"Don't forget. We vote today," my wife said.
"Yeah, I know."
"Well, you tend to remember to do something until it's time to do it. Then you forget about it."
I repeated myself, "Yeah, I know. The election is all we seemed to talk about for the last three months. The one day I'm not thinking about it is on election day! I just want to get it over with so that I don't have to think about it anymore."
"Well, I'm not sure that's the right attitude, but I'm sorry to say, I agree with you. By the way. Did you know there's also a question on the ballot in addition to the list of candidates?"
"What question?"
"Didn't you learn anything from the last election? You didn't vote on the question the last time. Did you?"
"No. I didn't see it."
"It was right there in black and white on the backside of the ballot."
"That's why I didn't see it. They hid it on the back. Why would I look there? All the candidates were listed on the front."
"Well, I'm telling you there's a referendum again this year. And they'll probably print the question on the back of the ballot. So, look carefully at both sides before you put it through the scanner."
"Okay, dear. What's the question going to be this time?"
"It was in the newspaper. Here it is," grabbing the day-old paper from the coffee table. "'Should the town issue bonds totaling 35 thousand dollars to study and make recommendations for the improvement of town roads and highways?'"
"WHAT!"
"That's what it says. You can vote no if you want."
"WOW! I'll do a survey of the roads for half of that! And I'll even use my car."
"That's nice of you to offer, dear. But I don't think that's an option. It's strictly a yes or no question."
"I can drive all over town in my old car. The shock absorbers are so bad I can feel every little crack and crevice in the pavement. And forget about the potholes! Whenever I drive over one, the wheels feel like they're going to fall off!"
"There's an article next to a copy of the ballot. It says the money would pay for a new software program. Based on the road condition information entered, the program prioritizes the streets to be repaired."
"I can tell you at least a half-dozen locations that need repaving right now. For example, Lexington Street is like a washboard. And then there's County Road..."
"Yeah, that's nice, but we'd better get going if we want to vote before the crowd."
"Let's take my car," I offered. "It's blocking yours anyway."
"There's no need to go racing down the street. We have plenty of time. Besides, you don't want to get a speeding ticket. Do you?"
KLAANKKK! SCREECH!
"What the heck was that?!!" she shouted.
"Ugh, crap! That must have been one of the potholes I was telling you about."
Story and Cover Illustration Copyright © 2021 by Michael DeFrancesco
