As hard as it is for me to believe now I grew up in a house where politics were not discussed. And I can honestly say it was blissful. Of course I did not realize how blissful it was at the time. You do truly only appreciate things when they are gone.
My mom would never tell any of us who got her votes. Dad didn't even get this information. She would tell me if I ever asked about which candidate she liked "Tracy, who you vote for is one of the only things in your entire life that you truly never have to tell anyone." And so it was her grand secret.
I remember I turned 18 in October of 1990 just before the November elections. Mom and Dad made sure I was registered to vote in time.
So we stood in line at Brogden Jr. High to vote. I went into the booth and pulled the curtain. It wasn't a presidential election and all I remember was flipping switches in the voting booth. I pulled the lever to open the curtain and as I spun out I see mom standing in the middle of the room with a camera taking my picture. People were watching and smiling... and I said "What are you doing?" And she said "Well how many people in the world have a picture of their first vote? You may be the only one!" And of course she laughed. It was a great moment in retrospect... but it was truly an awful picture. :)
Too funny. Politics weren't discussed in my house either.
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