Poll Dancing

In the seventh ward of district 1 or 2 (I couldn't tell which) Of Newburgh, I walked through my old high school's west wing. I was groggy, excited, and relieved that I managed to get up before 10 o'clock. The hallways were long with razor-thin blue lockers that I had no idea how I fit anything other then a single broomstick in. Inside the north cafeteria, ugly navy blue chairs were stacked up high against white pillars. White haired Elanor sat calmly at a long desk, her book of eligible names facing towards her. "Ah, I've heard that name twice today." My father and sister had already paid a visit. Early birds and worms. Night owls are cooler. I pulled the lever and the curtain closed. I stared at the jumble of switches displayed on the ugly robin's-egg blue panel. It looked like a mix between a 1950's kitchen and World War 2 aircraft controls. I flipped switches and pulled levels and still wondered if I voted or if I played an tedious game of slots.
A giant map in the front of the lunchroom displayed the voting instructions like a glorified FAFSA form, unclear and eye-glaze inducing. I produce a lot of eye-glaze. I stood in the hallway, tie, black pants, button-up and gray hoodie. None really had any problems. Young people and old alike told tales of ease of registration and voting/slots. I made each interview quick and to the point. It was 11 o'clock in the morning, typically a time where you don't want to be anywhere. All in all, only one tiny old lady raised her hand and kept walking, making me feel like a half-real journalist. At Newburgh Free Academy, old and young came and went, the word "smoothly" being thrown around pretty frequently. At one point for about 15 minutes, the guy on duty watching the door walked over and began complaining about immigration once I told him I was a journalism student. As we know, they are taking all our jobs. He later specified them specifically as Mexicans, even though I didn't think he was going to go that extra mile. My eye-glaze gland finally kicked in. I got my vote in. Time to hit the old dusty trail.