Election Day and Some Non-Cynical National Pride

So. I waited in line to vote for almost 2 hours. Once I got inside, and could see the room where the booths were, and hear the levers of the old voting machines being yanked back and forth it was hard not to think about the many New Yorkers that have used these same machines to vote before me. I know the media has been reminding all of us for about the last two years how historical this election is, but that's certainly how it feels, especially when you're faced with the same process first adopted in this state in 1892, and was used nationwide by the 1930's. The machine I used was newer than that, but most likely is at least 40 years old. That's a lot of elections, and a lot of arms on a lot of people turing knobs and pulling the lever back and forth.
Also, all day today, at work and while walking around the neighborhood at lunch, every conversation I've had, or even the snatches of conversation I've overheard (at least between residents) touches on the election. Most conversations start with "Hey! What's up? Did you Vote?" or are ending with "Are you going to Vote?" or "Don't forget to Vote!" I'm also sure that a lot of people will be out in bars tonight, watching the election results instead of some sort of ball game. Everybody around here is proud to be an American today, and it's fun to walk around a city made up of all nationalities and we're all talking about the same thing.