I will write a book about the finest things that have happened in the history of our great nation. The seven chapters are:

1. We declared independence and that all people are created equal


2. We established a bill of rights, including freedom of speech and religion.


3. With Lincoln's leadership, we ended slavery.


4. Women gained the right to vote.


5. We saved Europe, beginning with the heroic D-Day.


6. Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement for equality.


7. The people of America stood up and elected Barack Obama, an African American, simply because 51% of voters felt he was the best man for the job. Everyone voted on the basis of which candidate was best for the future of the country, and no one, including those who disagreed with his positions, voted for or against him because of the color of his skin.

I myself have only had the smallest, tiniest of parts in any of these events.

I was inspired by the Obama campaign, though, and tried to pitch in. One thing I did was learn how to register new voters, and I would do things like set up a card table at the Farmer's Market with a sign that said "Register to Vote Here."

One dreary afternoon in the early fall, I had an open lunch hour and decided to set my little registration table up outside of a Mexican Restaurant that is owned by a friend. It is a nice little restaurant that backs up to the university area, but faces the lower-income part of our town. I thought it might be a good place to catch the Obama demographic. You are supposed to register anyone who'd like to do so, but you can set yourself up any place you want to.

It got rainy, and my friend brought me out an umbrella and a nice burrito... probably a diet coke too. And once that investment had been committed to my efforts, it seemed like i needed to finish out the 90 minutes I'd allotted to do this, even though the sprinkle of rain and increasing winds were making it less likely anyone would stop to get registered.

My "Register to Vote Here" sign kept blowing down, and I kept trying to secure it to the table. At about the 75th minute, I was still customer-less, but I saw an elderly African American man walking by and looking at me from across the street. For a moment I thought he'd come over, but no luck.

Finally, at the 88th of my planned 90 minutes... an old woman appeared at my table. She asked if this were the place where you register to vote. I was thinking... well, it is today... but told her I'd be glad to get her registered. As she began to fill out the forms, I noticed her writing in her birthday. She was younger than me! ... she 53, me 55. Hiding my surprise, I realized I must not look too young either, but I became aware that she'd led a tough life.

She told me she was excited that she'd get the chance to vote for Barack Obama. A friend of hers had noticed me from across the street, and had suggested that she get herself registered. I asked if she were a regular voter, and she told me that she had never voted in an election in her entire life. "I just didn't know where you were supposed to go to get registered," she said..

A very small story... but for some reason one I'll never forget... Here is an Eagles song that fits, called You are Not Alone.