Today was Election Day. My polling place was almost empty when I arrived at 11:30 am. For this Floridian, voting was a breeze. As always, I'm excited and proud to vote. Growing up in the 60's and early 70's made me appreciate the right to vote. When the law changed and eighteen-year-olds were allowed to vote, I couldn't wait for my first election. My best friend and I went together to register to vote, and we were so excited to be taking that first step toward adulthood.

The first time I voted was for the governor's race. I went into the voting booth, pushed down the levers for my choices, pulled back the lever that opened the booth and recorded your vote, and it would not move. I tried again and again, but that lever would not open the curtains and let me out. I didn't know what to do, so I just stayed in there. Finally, the security guard asked if I were all right. No, I told him, and began to cry. I thought I had ruined all the votes on that one machine. Fortunately, the poll workers let me leave the booth with the curtains intact, and they let me vote again on another machine. Of course, this was way before the election of 2000, so I didn't have to worry about an over-vote, under-vote, or hanging chads.

Today, I just filled in the ovals. But the sense of excitement hasn't left. I'm still proud that I can vote freely in our country. I'm proud that I have a choice in who will lead our nation for the next four years. I'm blessed to have been born in America. I thank God I was born in America, the greatest nation on earth.

God bless America!