The young woman at the Steve & Barry checkout counter was non-verbal until she spotted my Obama Hope bracelet. She anxiously asked where I had gotten it and told me this election will be her first time voting. She was excited about voting and very excited about voting for Obama.
Seeing the youth vote grow by leaps and bounds this election season is fantastic! In the 1
972 Presidential election (McGovern-Nixon) I was one of the new 18 year old voters. (Allowing 18 year olds to vote came from the fact that this age group was fighting and getting killed in Vietnam so they should be able to elect their leaders) I was thrilled at the opportunity to have a say in my country's leadership and have been a dedicated voter since. The youth vote was not active for many years and while I'm not sure why, young voters are again actively involved in this important process
The issues facing this country directly impact young voters. Money for college, employment possibilities, gas prices all affect them and they need to choose the President they believe will best solve our current national woes. While I am sure there are young men and women who back John McCain, there seems to be a large percentage of young people who are voting for Barack Obama. In fact, he seems to have inspired a renewed interest in voting among this group and many others. Whatever the outcome of this election, it is gratifying to see more people involved in this right.
I interrupt the political blogging for a chicken break. Yesterday at Barnes & Nobles I found a chicken calendar. Not typically a chicken aficionado, I began to admire this creature after browsing through the barns at the 2007 Calumet Country fair. I never realized there were so many exotic looking chickens out there in farmland! Fluffy tops, colorful feathers, and flowing tails made chickens look like birds from paradise and not from the rural farm. 
Playing into my fascination with chickens was a story told by a son and mother at the fair. A 12 year old boy was showing a bantam chicken and had been involved in 4-H for a few years. The boy's father had died a year earlier and the mot
her, while disliking anything having to do with the chickens, decided supporting her son and becoming involved in his interest would help them both through their loss. She was as thrilled to be at the fair as he was!
Those of us living in a city and not involved in farm life tend to picture generic chickens, cows, horses, pigs, and rabbits. What the fair taught me is the diversity of these animals. The common Guernsey has uncommon relatives. The rabbit that feasts on my shrubs has designer cousins. The calendar pictures yesterday reminded me of the fun I had last summer and in these dismal economic times, that was worth more than the cost of the calendar.
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