ELECTION DAY: 5:32 PM EST

Michael and I left the place about 2:30. There was nothing to eat here and the boy was starving - and good candidate that I aspire to be I gotta keep my volunteers well-fed and happy - so we stopped at Wendy's and he got a triple-decker cheeseburger with fries and a Coke. I had nothing. I didn't want to eat anything at this juncture. Last year when I was helping Melody Hallman Daniel (who did an awesome job on the voice-over for the first commercial!) with some filmmaking she made sure the lunches we had were pretty light, 'cuz according to her - and it makes a lot of sense - eating a lot increases the levels of serotonin (I think) in the brain i.e. makes one tend to be a little slow/sleepy. That's good advice and I've tried to bear it in mind whenever doing something that might demand some attention.

So after we got this kid fed (Michael doesn't give a flip about the serotonin levels in his brain) we headed into western Rockingham County. We did a few precincts, including Bethany: which I've always thought of having one of the most urban mindsets for a place so admittedly rural in geography. We were at Bethany Civic Center for almost an hour. Then we got on Highway 65 toward Wentworth then took 87 to Eden, where we did some stops there.

Along the way we had a pretty wild range of music we listened to: "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, "Walking Around In Women's Underwear" by Bob Rivers, "I'm Alright" by Kenny Loggins, and some stuff from my peculiar collection of showtunes, including the opening theme to the old Charlton Heston movie The Omega Man (horribly dated film but I've always liked it: when the Apocalypse come this is the music that I'm going to be listening to while I drive around the wasted landscape).

So we get to Eden and while we're at this one precinct, about 5 o'clock my cellphone rings. It was Eric Smith, a fellow school board candidate (he's one of those that produced some of the offbeat commercials that have been running this past month on WGSR, and a really nice guy). He asked me if I'd heard the news. I said no, and he tells me: another school board candidate turned himself into police after being caught taking down campaign signs. At this time I won't comment on what my thoughts are on this matter.

So not long after that, Michael and I decided we had done as much as we probably could, and we needed to get inside and warm and dry and I did especially 'cuz the rain had thoroughly soaked the seat of my pants! We got back here a little while ago. He's back to playing Gamecube again and Lisa is gonna make lasagna for dinner for all three of us. Then I have to take Michael back home to Greensboro and then...

...then, I don't know what else is going to happen tonight.

I'm still debating what to do: go to the governmental center, go to this candidates' party at the Pennrose Mall, go to the TV station I work at and probably be held hostage by the general manager until I give some kind of interview (especially if I wind up winning a seat), or... yes, maybe just come back here and spend a nice quiet evening at home. I haven't decided yet.

Okay well, that about wraps it up for this report, but there will be a couple more in the next few hours. Who knows, I might even have something fun to post then :-)