Ballot Boxes by Angie Ledbetter

No matter which presidential candidate you plan to vote for in November, isn't it awesome (and I don't use that word lightly) that we have the privilege to cast our vote without undue influence, hardship or risk? This same sense of awe and thankfulness pervades my being whenever I step behind the voting booth curtain of my precinct and make my choices in leadership and legislative acts up for a vote.

As another election nears, I'm filled with gratitude for living in a country where every eligible adult is free and encouraged to let his/her voice be heard. Countries struggling under harsh despots and dictators, madmen and abusers of human rights enjoy no such luxury; yet the citizens of these places would give almost anything to have a direct say-so in who leads them. Isn't it sad that so many of us feel apathetic about the whole issue here?


To honor the nation which holds the electoral process in highest esteem, let us all consider the stakes, and make the wisest choices possible in local and national issues and leadership. I appreciate the opportunity and will never take it for granted.

Laughter from Choo-Choo Island by Angie Ledbetter

Trapped by a passing train today, I used the time to think about the things that make life good. What bubbled to the top of the list over and over again was laughter. Winning the lottery would be great, but that dream doesn’t sustain me on a daily basis like a good belly laugh. (And, boy, am I built for that!) Humor from unexpected sources and events are my favorite. You know – when someone says or does something hilarious from out of the blue, or when some slapstick craziness happens. Those hit my funny bone like a bolt of lightning. Apparently, my children love nothing better than observing these things too...especially if they involve their mother’s humiliation.

Over a year ago, walking back toward the car after an errand, all three of my kids were looking directly out of the front window when my heel caught in a sidewalk crack. Down I went, the most ungraceful hippo ever to walk on land...in a dress. They still howl to the point of tears whenever one remembers that horrible day. They recount and reenact the Great Fall, adding manufactured details of me flopping around on my back. The other story they relive (almost daily) is the time I couldn’t recall the name of an entertainment center, and finally sputtered, “...umm...Choo-Choo Island!” (The name of the stupid place is Celebration Station.)

Humor truly is the best medicine for whatever ails you, and nothing turns bad into good, or at least tolerable, than a good dose. Who knows? Maybe angels get their wings every time someone on Earth laughs, sort of like in “It’s a Good Life.” Today I’m thankful for the things and people who make me laugh, like these LOL-worthy videos: Oprah & Tom Cruise spoof - http://youtube.com/watch?v=UbEX4AM7fA8 and Mom Song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxT5NwQUtVM . And a new definition I’ve added to my lexicon: Electile Dysfunction: the inability to become aroused over any presidential candidate in the 2008 election year.