Gauntlet--A form of punishment or torture in which people armed with sticks or other weapons arrange themselves in two lines facing each other and beat the person forced to run between them.

Why did I open with this? Well, over the years it has come to mean many things to me. When we were at the mall and needed a little snack, we'd head over to the food court and run the gauntlet of vendors offering free samples. When I was working downtown I used to have to run the gauntlet of smokers to get in and out of the building. So, what does this have to do with me today? Well, it has to do with my ongoing attempt to be a responsible American citizen and vote. When I found out that I wasn't registered to vote at my current address I figured that the paperwork had again been shuffled off to some mysterious black hole and I was still registered in my parent's district. So, after my afternoon meeting let out early, I got a jump on the hour's drive down to my parent's. I pulled into the lot of the building where they vote and suddenly it was like I was on the red carpet at Cannes. I was mobbed by a ton of people each trying to give me some little trinket with their name, elected position, and some clever campaign slogan. After manuevering my way through this particular gauntlet I reached the doors and went inside. Inside you're safe from the people trying to garner your vote with their down home enthusiasm, which, don't get me wrong, is something that I really like. You can actually meet most of the people you are voting for right there outside the office. But, once inside I walked over to the table and gave them my name. One of the ladies on the election board is a friend of my parents and said, "Didn't we process a change of address form for you last year?" I said that they had, but that it didn't work, I wasn't listed. Turns out, I'm not listed in my parent's district either. Apparently I haven't been a good voter because they wiped me off the books. Anyway, the woman called the voting office to find out exactly what was going on. Turns out that the paper work was filed correctly in my parent's district and they had me categorized as moved, but that my current district dropped the ball somewhere in listing me as a resident. So, if I want to vote where I live in November (and that's a might big IF) I have to re-register. Again, I'm beginning to understand why voting numbers go down every year even though the population swells.
On a completely unrelated topic, I was sad to see that June Carter Cash died. She will be sorely missed. And, I'm afraid that Johnny won't be far behind. That will be a sad day in the world of country music.
And again to This all I can say is...It's about time.