Scratch marks

We have an old tradition in SpinDizzy Muck: every year sometime in February or March we elect a mayor. It's a purely ceremonial position, yet it makes a big difference. Trust me, we tried going without. It sucked.

When I first got there (fifteen years ago, yikes!) it was right in the middle of the electoral campaign. My first instinct was to stay out because I was a newcomer. But Jaxen, one of the candidates, told me: "you're here now; it matters to you, too". So I read up on everyone who was running, and their platforms, and cast my vote. We do instant-runoff in SpinDizzy, by the way. That rules.

And you know what? My first or second choice actually won, and they were a fine mayor (Jaxen also won a term later). But as time went on, I became less involved, and one year I was too depressed to vote at all. Can you guess what happened? The candidate I was kind of rooting for lost by one vote.

Granted, we're a small community, but it's that much more important. Community is what we make it, all of us together and each in their own corner. And communities need a focus, or beacon. Not necessarily a leader, but someone who represents them. Someone to rally around.

There's "politics" of the kind that rhymes with "blech", and politics as in the fabric of social life. And someone has to weave the latter, too, because it doesn't happen by itself.