Trick or Treat for Change

Since I live in Halloween heaven (or hell?) - a college town where tens of thousands of revelers will cavort in the streets this weekend - my little town schedules trick or treating on the preceding Thursday. I guess the goal is to separate the wee ghosties from the rioters. (Never mind that the actual riots usually break out only as the bars are closing.) It took me a couple of years to get used to this, and I still think it's weird. As my sister said today: "And do you celebrate Christmas on December 23, too?"

So yesterday we went trick or treating, and I saw this cool Barack O'Lantern (not ours, I'm sorry to say):


Today I saw something even cooler. At 3:45, no fewer than thirty-five people were lined up on Court Street. I stopped my bike, brakes screeching, to see what was up, expecting maybe free drinks for the holiday. But no! They were all in line to early vote at the Board of Elections. I later heard that the line had been much longer at noon. This is a town that will probably break 80 to 90 percent for Obama.

My little town is not at all typical for the rest of southeastern Ohio. Nonetheless. I'm starting to hope that Ohio might not embarrass itself again this time around.