Ooh! Look. Shiny!

“It’s not the voting that’s democracy; it’s the counting.“- Tom Stoppard

I did my part for the country today by voting. Did you? Our newspaper and TV stations provided the ballots online so anyone could look over the ballot. Seeing it online in advance was a big help. In my village, Fairport, NY, we have the machines where you pull the lever, the curtain closes, tick the choices and push the lever back to register the votes and open the curtain. It’s not flashy, but it’s quick and easy. Hearing the clicks is pretty satisfying. It took a total of 15 minutes to vote. And a surprise bonus - Starbucks gave me free coffee just for voting. Regardless of the outcome of the election, it was a pretty good day for democracy in action here in my town.

Supernatural - Episode 4.08 “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester”

November 2 is All Soul’s Day. In the Catholic religion, it’s a holy day of obligation. The faithful pray for departed friends and family so the souls in purgatory will pass on to heaven. November 2 is also the day that Sam Winchester lost two people he loved. When he was six months old, Azazel came into his nursery to collect on the deal Mary Winchester made with him 10 years before in exchange for John Winchester’s life. Azazel paid his visit, feeding baby Sam demon blood. Mary interrupted Azazel’s work though, so he burned her up on the ceiling for interfering. Twenty-two years later, Sam returns from a demon hunting trip with his brother Dean to find his girlfriend Jessica on the ceiling and then engulfed in flames the same way Mary died.

Sam has yet another awful Halloween as he and his brother Dean have to save a town from the demon behind Halloween or the angels will wipe the town off the map. And the Great Pumpkin is a no-show. Again.

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