Gratitude Monday: presidential choice

As we stagger into the final weeks of this appalling election, I take heart in the small signs that not everyone in this country—or even in this city—has completely lost their sense of humor.

I work in the downtown area of the District They Call Columbia, a block from the Metro Center station. This area has many established fixtures, including a few homeless people who appear there come day, go day, around the calendar; some panhandle, some talk to invisible forces, some just seem to live there.

But one day last August, on my way to the salad bar place, around the Marriott Metro Center Hotel I saw several men dressed in old olive drabs, each with a dog in harness. One was sitting right at the corner of the hotel’s froofy restaurant. As people passed by him he held up a hand-lettered sign that could, I suppose, be construed as extortion.

“$1 or I’m voting for Trump.”

I laughed, but kept on walking, because salad. But I considered the pitch and on my way back to work I asked, “What’s written on the other side?” Yes, it was “$1 or I vote for Hillary.”

(I'm not sure how he assessed pedestrians to determine which side to show. Maybe he didn't; just held up whatever. But he looked pretty savvy.)

Well, I don’t carry cash on my lunch runs, so I took my salad back to the office and rummaged around for a fiver. I got it and my camera and walked back out to his corner. I asked if it was okay if I took his photo, and he said yes. Then I handed him the fiver and told him, “Vote whichever way you please.”

By the time I was heading home, he and his mates were gone, and I’ve not seen them since. I hope they’ve got something better going on for them. But in the meantime, I look back at that clever and amusing hook and I’m grateful for the reminder—from a somewhat unlikely source—that not everyone in this country has lost their minds over this election. I’m holding on to that for the next month.