Casting your vote

 

Casting your vote takes time and care. But the very first thing you need is a ballot. You can fill it out, or not. A blank ballot requires the same exact skill as one dotted with pencil streaks. Getting your hook around a paper ballot isn’t too difficult. If you think it helps, feel free to slap a few squirming worms on the end, just for good luck. 

Now that you have your ballot attached to a hook, you need to find a nice fishing pole. Wood will do fine. Carbon fiber isn’t bad, but it is expensive. Because this is a democratic exercise. Find a dock or anywhere beside a body of water where you can actually get your feet wet. This is important. You will only get a few opportunities to cast your vote before the material begins to disintegrate. There aren’t mulligans here. 

Once you cast your ballot, watch as it floats. Admire fish, fowl and bored snorkelers swimming around it for a real taste of freedom. 

Some may say this is tantamount to wasting your vote. Perhaps that’s the case. But I get a vote in this country. Which means I get to take it fishing. You don’t have to that. You can keep it on dry land, away from the moss and mollusks. I don’t have that luxury. 

I live on an island.