I'm sure I'm not the only person who has followed the events since the election of last Tuesday with more than just a little bit of dismay. I'm speaking of what we have seen going on in South Florida; specifically Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Seeing their problems makes me glad that I no longer live down there.
I did live in Broward County, and later Palm Beach County, for a couple of years. It was one of those "It seemed like a good idea at the time" things that prompted me to go down there in the first place. Not long after I moved down there, I realized that I simply did not "fit in" in that environment, and it was unlikely that I ever would. Most of the people in the area are not native to that area. They either moved down from New York or from another country altogether. That's not a criticism of people from New York or anyone from another country altogether. I simply mean the area has a very different mindset than that of native Floridians, who are mostly found further north. Among many people in the area, there is a bit of arrogance when it comes to those of us from more rural backgrounds. We tend to be looked upon as being a bit "backward" with our "down home ways."
When I think of that, it makes me laugh a little when I hear the Supervisor of Elections in Palm Beach County say it's "impossible" for her to meet the deadline of counting the votes from the last election with only five days notice. I guess when you don't even attempt to begin to start until two days before your deadline, it is rather difficult to count that many votes, even with machines.
Every morning when I get to work, I see the infamous "headstones" that the late Tommy Greene placed outside the building here. For those of you who may not be familiar, it represents a series of words that should be "dead and buried" from our lexicon. One of those words is "impossible." I think our friends down in Palm Beach County could use a bit of old-fashioned "Tommy Greene spirit."
I look at the job Madison County (yes those poor, backward people in Madison County) did with the election, counting the votes and even recounting the votes; all done well before any deadlines and it makes me shake my head. How can it be that those of us in Madison County were able to accomplish that, and Palm Beach County can't (I won't even mention Broward County; I think that situation must be either gross incompetence or outright corruption, but that's just my opinion)? Surely we aren't that much smarter in Madison County (and the other 65 counties in the state), are we? Now that I think of it, we are smart enough not to live in Palm Beach or Broward Counties. Perhaps there's something to be said for "backward, down-home ways" after all.