I went to vote today and the place was mostly empty which was nice because I took Roen and Simone with me. I walked up to my table and said my last name. The man gave me a quizzical look and asked if that was spelled with a K. I said, " No, a C. It's French" I thought that would help him understand my "peculiar" last name. He found me on the list and in a halting,loud voice (a voice typically reserved for the mentally handicapped or non-english speakers) asked me if I had ever voted before. I was perturbed and asked if they wanted to see my driver's license. He said he believed me and that he didn't need to see it. Another election judge intervened and informed me that she could speak French. I wanted to say, "Good for you!" but I didn't. I just smiled politely. She then told me that she belonged to the Allez Francais group right here in Rochester. I still wasn't seeing the connection to voting but I just smiled and nodded because I really had no idea how to respond. Then, she proceeded to tell me in a mix of slow English and halting high school French that she would demonstrate the voting machine for me. Think of Pepe Le Pew here. She demonstrated all the levers for me. She was so eager to be helpful I didn't have the heart to tell her I was just another American. I just let her continue and bit my cheeks to keep from laughing out loud. Roen and Simone were so puzzled by the lady talking strangely to mommy. When we came out of the booth, she gave a sticker and said, "Merci for voting!" I barely made it outside without laughing. I can just see those guys feeling good about helping the recently naturalized French girl to vote. ah. It was a hoot.
