Voting was very important to my mother.
She voted in every election – local and national – from the time she was eligible to vote. I remember her taking me once to the polls when I was too little to understand why the big room was so full of tall tables with little shields around three sides.
She worked in a public library where among her duties were registering other people to vote. She didn’t wait for patrons to ask—if their records showed they weren’t already registered she always asked and encouraged them to vote, whatever their political inclinations.
Right up to her last day, she told anyone who would listen—family, friends, doctors, nurses—that they must vote, that our votes matter and we shouldn’t throw away our vote out of apathy.
***
At long last I found a (feeble? Fabulous?) way to honor my mother.
I’ve mentioned Mom’s desire that I write something about voting before but I’ve had a hell of a time figuring out just what and where. Right after her death, it was just too close, too raw. Then as the months passed, the project was too daunting. What if I got it wrong? What if it wasn’t enough? What if it wasn’t good?
So I spun my wheels. Then a friend pointed me at VoteForward, and there I found a medium that felt right.
VoteForward is a grassroots effort to get out the vote through handwritten letters to registered but inactive Democrats. Handwritten anything is novel enough to get noticed in this world of email and texts. They’re also more intimate (and hopefully effective) than shouting into the void of social media, or winding up in someone’s spam filter or deleted voicemail.
So I’m writing an abbreviated version of what’s at the start of this post (minus the photo) in each of these letters. I can only write about 5 at a time before my handwriting becomes illegible, but if I can crank out 5 a day between now and the October 17 mailing date I’m still going to reach more people than I would be posting to my blog.*
Some might say I’m cynically exploiting my mother’s death, but she would have wanted this. It’s coming from a place of hope and optimism that she had that I often severely lack.
Because yes, I know—the American system of voting is broken. Given the disparity between the popular and Electoral College results in 2016 and the vote-counting debacle of 2000 I think Mom realized this too. But this is the only system of voting we’ve got, and if we want any chance of fixing it we have to keep using it. She would have, and I will continue to.
Mom called this faith that it would all turn out for the best if we just tried hard enough her “inner Pollyanna”. When I was younger it used to make me roll my eyes but with age, I’ve developed my own inner Pollyanna. She’s smaller and weaker than Mom’s but in times like these, I need every little shred of gladness I can get.
So maybe I’m working my hands to carpal tunnel with these letters for no reason. Maybe my writing sucks, maybe every one of these letters will wind up in the garbage. But I think it’s worth the risk. So to honor my mother I’ll keep sharing her dying wish.
*I love y’all and I’d still rather have only 10 readers who “get” me than have to water myself down to attract thousands! But this is the vote. I need reach. I hope you’ll share this, but I hope more that you’ll join VoteForward (or something like it) yourself!
Dear Allison,
I’ve long taken an interest in your Blog (have casually “followed” it ~ in a non-subscriber fashion, strange though that may sound; though I have my reasons, primarily esoteric, for not wishing to be *automatically* apprised of what you’re up to! ~, and of course your writerly progress and intriguing discussions and discursions therein, for quite a number of years, in fact!), and had been intending to initiate contact with you at several junctures in the past ~ only to refrain from doing so, because the timing never seemed entirely fortuitous to me: if only because I didn’t want to feel that I’d be distracting you from enjoyable experiences such as the HNS conference(s); overseas odysseys (that river cruise!); your various creative endeavours, not to mention sporting pursuits; dedicating the requisite time to celebrate a departed loved one; and of course all the other manifold obligations and routines of everyday, ongoing life!
But when I read your post “disorganized thoughts on disorganized things”, of (when was it exactly? Ah: just reminded myself: of) June 1, 2020, not only did so much of your considered contemplations resonate with me (and doubtless with all who pondered or even cursorily perused your thoughts; even those of your readership, like myself, residing t’other side of the Pond!), but I felt compelled to pen a response ~ in a spirit of Encouragement and Spiritual support ~ to you, in the form of a quasi-Elizabethan Sonnet ~ which I subsequently shrank from sending to you, because I contrarily felt that such communication would be somehow “inappropriate” or “silly”…!
However, given the seeming variability of your mood: sometimes passing upbeat, and enthusiastic about such projects as your Fortuny dress; but at other points, conveying no small degree of apparent “despondency” (unsurprising(ly), in dark light of the divers irregularities ~ to say the least! ~ afoot in the U.S. of late, and almost eclipsing much of the Good in the world in tenebrous fume!), I thought it might avail to dust off my Sonnet, in the certain Hope (yes: I’m now surer in my Hope: it’s gone from doubtful to “certain”!) that you shall find my Poeticke sentiments nicely Inspiring and Uplifting!
But be all the preceding as it may, I did, however, deem it necessary to ask your permission to post the poem (you might prefer, for whatever reason, if I *didn’t*?!); and moreover, I hasten to add that, since the poem contains some Greek letters and other unusual typographical characters that conveivably might not display onscreen (or, rather, online) “correctly” or satisfactorily, I may have need to submit just a short sampling of such characters in isolation (in advance of the poem itself), in order to establish what (if any) modifications I need to make to the existing formatting/typography of the piece.
Looking forward to your reply (hopefully a “Yea!” of Approval, rather than “nay” of refusal!) with exuberant anticipation,
Best Wishes & Warmest Regards,
Max
() :o)
Hi Max,
!! You’ve been sitting on a lot of thoughts over there! Thanks for reading, and writing.
Yes, please send the sonnet!
‘o) Yawning a bit sleepily over here, in “the Isle of the Dead” (in Insula T(h)anatos!); haven’t yet grabbed any shuteye, cos I’m also penning some blank verse (“Vneasie Lyes, Vnheedfull, Bore the Crovvner”) in a kind of tribute to “Shakespeare” (whoever he was! ;)); not to mention some Latin verse ~ but will need to press ahead in earnest and get these additional endeavours properly completed, lest anon they lose what little relevance or currency they might (have) otherwise possess(ed)! (Part of the reason I contacted you was to equip myself with just the spur I needed to prod my oft-ennui-afflicted, sluglike self across that seemingly dauntingly-distant finishing line!)
Anyway: yes, the Sonnet!: will of course send it very shortly, I assure you ~ but first need to gauge if the following “special characters” render satisfactorily (only a selection of them actually appear in the poem, it must be said ~ but I thought it worthwhile to ascertain whether certain *other* characters, employed in *other* poems, also display adequately; I’m basically testing out a number of scripts here: Greek, Chinese, Cyrillic, Japanese; Astronomical/Astrological sigils; etc.!):
Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ, Ε ε, Ζ ζ, Η η, Θ θ, Ι ι, Κ κ, Λ λ, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ξ ξ, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Σ σ/ς, Τ τ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Ψ ψ, Ω ω. * ° · † ‡ / \ & Ellipsis: … ⟨⟩ ‹› ☓ ʔ
T⁗Antiφων ❨❩u ALʺ ſ∅e li o҉ n ¡i><!¡
An‴on Highʹſt. ·-–_— ⚷ ⅊
↑☊⚸☋↓∞ ʬ [§] ☈ ☇ ☄ (♅ ⛢ ♆ ♇)
☉ ☼ ☀ ☿ ♀ (⨁ ⊕ ♁) ☽⚪☾ ♂ ♃ ♄
Au ✩ Hg Cu Terra Sb Ag Fe Sn Pb
☁ ⛤ ☆ ★ ⛯ ⛰ ⚫ ⚔ ⚗ ☞¡☜ ☝ ☟
☤ ⚚ ⚕ ☧ ℞ # ♯ ♮ ♭ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
→·← ℣ ℟ ☥ Ꝟ ꝟ Ꝃ ꝃ Ꝅ ꝅ ꙮ ש שׁ שׂ
ⵟ ⴲ (T); Ⱑ ⱑ Ⱎ (G); Шш Ѵѵ Ѷ Ж ж
ꚛ Ꚛ Ӝ ӝ 丰Ӝ 山ꝀⰞꝁⰞ. ✊✌ ⁜ ☨ ꝝ Ꙟꙟ
☣ ⛳ ッ ツ ヅ ⧺ ⧻ 🀄 中 🔮 ⚴🌀 口
Thanks for bearing with me;
Be back soon!
Best Wishes,
Max
:o)
Have tried (three times!) to post a further reply containing the poem itself ~ but am encountering difficulty: “Oops! The page you were looking for does not exist. Try a Search…” (or somesuch prompt) appears, and my intended message verily vanishes into the Aether! (Good job I Copied the content before attempting to post!)
Will try again later;
Bye for now,
M.
Well, that preparatory exercise was really rather instructive and enlightening (for me, at any rate, heh!).
Modifications now finalized, hopefully the sonnet (and accompanying text) that follows will display more or less according to the configuration I intend(ed)?! (One last caveat: words “bookended” by curly brackets, {thus}, denote {italics}!)
________
| o o |
| |
| ⏜ |
\_____/
OS FATVORVM EBVLLIT STVLTITIAM;
ET FALLENS GVBERNACVLA POSSIDET.
__
–·—·-·—·\—·-·—\—·-·—|——|——|—·-·—/—·-·—/·—·-·—··
.°·°* * † * * · * * * ° ° · ° ° ° ° * · ,.° ° ° · .* · ,*
·*°*·\ \ / /*Hen I diſcloſe thy Memory-Booke of late, /
·°***·\/\/.*And ſcan’t late {Breeſe}, of iournall courſe, I finde /
Thy Deſcant, ſometimes of more-Sperate Fate, /
Novv ſcant faire ſcantling of Vntroubl’d minde. /
But though ſuch boading Change ennpalleth thee, /
That thy Voyce ((σneς quieτeʔ) turnεs T’‴i><uch Antiφων, /
As ſings States |ong·eρe·deepe Diuide,dead. Contrary: /
Deepes·{GVl_FEs}, vvhere ❨❩uld VVEALʺ ſ∅e breathes milliond Cues, ſti|| 8‹ An‴on., /
As yett breede grimac’d VVoes, grau’ſt Ills, Blacke greefes Vp-riſe, Knovve {this}, /
Deere Lady·: A.:feare th’ Laſt ’Count ſhall abate vs, /
VVould cauſe vs falſe Highʹ ſt Ord’nance, high remiſſe; /
Yet (i’ Troth) vvhoſe VVillʔ’s elſe: {eu’rie} ſoules {true} Qui·et:us; /
But ’fore ſaid ſequent Grace may grace moſt paſt all gyues, /
All Precedents Euill muſt perforce bee raz’d: that Nevv-Riſ’n Good ſuruiues.
MEM SERICAM STOLAM FECIT SIBI; BYSSVS ET PVRPVRA INDVMENTVM EIVS.
AIN FORTITVDO ET DECOR INDVMENTVM EIVS; ET RIDEBIT IN DIE NOVISSIMO.
________
| o o |
| |
| ⏝ |
\_____/
Btw, the Latin “title” (and, moreover, coda) is derived (that is to say, loosely borrowed and/or adapted) from the Proverbia of Jerome’s Vulgate. Not that I’m a “Chapter-and-Verse” regurgitator of, nor sermonizer on, the contents of The Good Book (far from it; I’ve read the Bible ~ including Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical material ~ merely twice in its entirety in my entire life, and am of the humble opinion that, very often, Scripture *actually* teaches and counsels the exact *opposite* of what is commonly, perhaps for perfectly prosaic reasons, misinterpreted as “Gospel” and “correct” orthodoxy ~ but just try so much as *insinuating* that the “Faithful” might benefit from even *occasionally* “reading between the lines” so as to comprehend what’s oft merely *implied* by the Inspired of yore!) ~ just that me was watching an intriguing series on Netflix, “Warrior Nun”, round about the time (not long after) I first read your post “disorganized thoughts on disorganized things”: and the way that the series entitled its episodes with individual Chapter-and-Verse from the Bible’s various books (e.g., Episode 1: “Psalm 46:5”; Episode 3: “Ephesians 6:11”) was highly unusual (to say the least; even if the series *is* at least co-produced by Spain, and therefore deeply influenced and informed ~ I’m surmising ~ by Catholicism!) for these predominantly Secular latter days ~ which Biblical “signposts” could not but arouse my curiosity: thereby encouraging me to undertake something of a “refresher” looksee at the Bible (the relevant passages signalled by “Warrior Nun”’s ten episodes’ titles, at any rate!)! (Incidentally, feel I should clarify that I was myself ~ like you ~ born and raised Catholic, and continue to hold dear ~ even as I mildly criticize ~ much of the Christian Churches’ teachings, so really mean(t) no disrespect whatsoever to our Spanish cousins when I merely surmise(d) the undoubtedly/broadly “Catholic” underpinnings of “Warrior Nun”! Though that being said, I find the series ultimately an amusing, albeit thought-provoking, trifle ~ well, no, actually, quietly hilarious! ~ for the way in which it strives to reconcile polar contraries: aspiring to highfalutin and serious Religiosity on the dexter hand, yet entertaining teenage kicks and a desire for the Hedonistic pleasures of hallucinatory nightclubbing and joyous IRresponsibility on the other side of the neon-lit nighttime street the sinister hand seeks to beckon its young female protagonist untowardly towards!)
Anyway! ~ long story short: Episode 2’s title, “Proverbs 31:25”, and the passage thereby signalled (KJV: “Strength and honour [beauty] *are* her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come”; the Vulgate’s Latin precursor of this passage constitutes the final part of me poem’s coda!), seemed to me fairly evocative of *you*, yourself ~ indeed (as per Proverbs 31 when considered “overall”, pun intended!), you often “seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with [your] hands”: “layeth [your] hands to the spindle, and [your] hands hold the distaff”: and verily (I say unto thee! Lol), “[your] clothing *is* silk and purple”! (Well, that lilac-y Fortuny dress of yours, at any rate! 😛 Though I obviously modified the “mem stragulam vestem fecit sibi” bit of 31:22 to “mem *sericam stolam* fecit sibi” because, much though a “rug gown” (“stragulam vestem”: “covering hangings”: “clothing of tapestry”: very nigh bedspreads and quilts and throws and bits of old rugs and carpets thrown together?!) might just about do to suit Dr John Dee down to a Fourth T (or D, rather: à la the memorable allusion in Jonson’s “The Alchemist”: which doubtless influenced the engraved depiction of Dee ~ amongst others ~ serving as the frontispiece to Casaubon’s “A True and Faithful Relation”?), methought that a more Ladylike and refined (as befits your Master Seamstress Expertise!) “silken stole [dress]” (“sericam stolam”, forsooth!) was infinitely more befitting!
Also: “{Breeſe} […] {GVl_FEs}” readily “reverses” (and with the “Vl” being sub-construed as Roman numerals!) to yield the “Gulf Breese Six”; and “Yet (i’ Troth)” seems to be semi-concealing, via straddling of the opening bracket, an Abominable Snowman in plain sight?! (Thought I’d tip a cheeky wink and knowing nod to your enthusiasm for Mysteries of the Unknown, oh yesh!)
And suchlike silliness (I could go on; my tongue is never far from my cheek, even when I’m being halfway “serious” concerning Spiritual matters: methinkes thou shar’st, in very truth, deep kinship with good Doctor Dee! (A connexion *beyond* “merely” writing about him and, erm, Kelley, I mean!)), yegads!
Best Wishes,
“Max”
() ;o)#)
You HAVE been reading! And I’m astonished at how you managed to get so many of my recurring topics into Elizabethan style sonnets!
(I’m also amazed that the blog supported so many special characters – hats off to WordPress!)
I must offer though – I was not raised Catholic. Christian, yes, but of the suburban American Methodist stripe (the key to the doors of Heaven is bringing something good to the church potluck).