**this has nothing to do with the previous post, but i figured, why not add a little political humor to what is my life right now???


i shall now relay the story of how the west virginian children told me they were going to vote before the elections, and why.

it was the monday before election day, and we (saltworks) had just performed a show about drugs and it's effect on a person and the family, and i am sitting in the middle of a noisy cafeteria teeming with seventh graders. i put my tray on the table and start picking at my mystery meat substance, and look to the girl on my right.

"so," i say," if you could vote, who would you vote for?"

she stares at me and pulls her fruit roll-up from her nylon sponge-bob lunch box, and blinks. "i'd vote for kerry because bush is responsible for thousands of people dying in war, over in Iraq and stuff."

"well, why is kerry better than bush?" i reply, not batting an eyelash.

she picks at the fruit roll-up. "i don't know. i just don't like bush."

a young version of zach morris sits down next to me, and i turn to him. "so, who would you vote for if you could vote today?"

he rips open his milk carton and retorts "bush, because if kerry is president, he'll ban hunting, and my dad and i go hunting all the time."

a young poet sitting across from me nods vigorously in agreement. "well," she exclaims, "the whole hunting thing would be bad because if you can't hunt, then there'd just be too many animals running around."

her hands start to wave in a frenzied excitement, matching the tone in her voice. "and then, everything changes depending on what you think about the whole homosexual marriage thing. because kerry's for it," she pauses to frown in disdain, "but bush is against it."

her enthusiasm continues. "now, i personally think that they should all go on an island somewhere, you know, and just be gay there." she picks up her plastic fork with nonchalance and digs in to her mashed potatoes. "what about you?" she asks.

"i don't know," i reply. because "i don't know" seems to be the only safe answer in this world, at this moment.



so- there's the story of how the west virginia children would vote. i suppose- it doesn't seem so much different than how the rest of "adult" america votes.