Dad and Mom took me to the General Election although it was a school day. They wanted me to see how lawmakers were chosen. It was important that our country’s citizens were involved in our democracy.  We had been told for months how different the candidates were from each other. The line moved slowly. When we got to the voting booth, Dad took out his charge card and told the official how many dollars he wanted to vote to his candidate. Mom took her charge card and did the same for her candidate. Afterwards Mom said, “I just love auctions.”

–Jim Krotzman is a retired English teacher at Watertown (WI) High School. He is a struggling haiku poet and fisherman.