It was almost like old times. After many years of voting via absentee ballots, my wife and I ventured over to our nearby polling place and cast our votes in-person last Tuesday.
We wanted to check out the scene, to see if it was as we remembered it. It was refreshing. The vibe was upbeat, friendly and relaxed.
The poll workers were busy, diligent and helpful. Others casting ballots were in a pleasant mood too. Some brought kids along for the experience. There were even a couple of dogs in attendance too. The conversations were civil and positive. Good humor was evident.
There were no arguments, no cross words, no outward signs of angst or anger. The one major difference between back in the day and now: technology. Our identifications were checked on a laptop. We voted on a touch screen. It was simple, quick and painless.
What made it better than sitting at home and preparing a mail-in ballot was the presence of everyday people, neighbors, citizens who cared. There was a sense of normality, community and calm. People treated one another with respect.
The act of voting was clearly important for them. They were serious about it. They appeared to approach it as a duty. Talk about a breath of fresh air in uncertain times.
We left the polling place with a healthy degree of optimism, no matter how we might feel now about the actual results of the election itself, both within San Mateo County and California and in the nation generally. That’s an entirely different story.
TROUBLE FOR RAIL PROJECT: Regarding last week’s election, with Republicans poised to exercise control over key levers of the federal government beginning early next year, look for more taxpayers’ cash for California’s high-speed rail project to dry up.
The GOP has never been keen on continuing to finance this boondoggle. The last estimate made public by HSR authorities indicated that construction, both underway and projected into the future, was short at least $100 billion — and counting.
Furthermore, it was noted that, as the state’s population shrinks (due to aftereffects of the pandemic, high taxes, high housing costs and other negative factors), ridership projections for the rail system are being scaled back.
All in all, the outlook, again, is not rosy for this bloated white elephant that is supposed to one day whisk riders from San Francisco to Los Angeles is just over two hours. Good luck.
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RETURN TO PROPER GRAMMAR: Pronouns. We all learned about them in grammar school. Hence the word “grammar.” But, over the last decade or so, there has been a bizarre movement to blur the lines of traditional pronouns.
It’s an apparent response to sensitive gender issues that affect only a tiny minority of individuals. Call this surge “woke” or “politically correct” or just plain strange. It’s been confusing and a direct slap in the face to centuries of the English language. It’s something Shakespeare, Faulkner or Hemingway would not understand or relish in the least.
However, strong signs of a distinct change for the better in this regard were in evidence in last week’s election results as it became apparent that the conventional use of pronouns seemed to be preferred by a lot of voters, at least those interviewed by media outlets.
It can’t come soon enough. Referring to an individual as “they” or “them” is grammatical heresy.
OLPH WAS HOME TO TWO GREATS: It’s the answer to a Bay Area trivia question. Which local elementary school has produced a pair of Hall of Fame football coaches who were fast friends for the better part of eight decades, beginning in the 1940s?
The answer to that poser: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School on Wellington Avenue in Daly City. The coaches, of course, were John Madden and John Robinson.
Both became highly successful at their chosen craft, Madden with the NFL’s Oakland Raiders and Robinson with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and, at the collegiate level, the University of Southern California.
Robinson died this week in Louisiana; Madden passed away three years ago.
A TIMES GEOGRAPHIC DISCOVERY: The New York Times online daily news summary created a surprising, new geographic designation for a significant portion of California last week, perhaps even an entirely new state: “South California.” And you thought the influential East Coast media heavyweight wasn’t really in tune with entities and activities located west of the Hudson River.
Email: johnhorganmedia@gmail.com.
(1) comment
Thanks for another enjoyable column, Mr. Horgan. I’d recommend Trump cancel all federal taxpayer bailout funds for California’s train-to-nowhere and hold back federal funds until Newsom gets with the America First program. Let’s get on X and make suggestions to Elon at the Department of Government Efficiency to do just that. As for the return to proper grammar, I’m all for it. We can continue telling “they” or “them” where to go (I’ll leave that to your imagination) with their pronouns.
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