Lisa Johnson 
Last month I mentioned an article that I was working on. Well my wonderful writing news is that it was published today on The Atlantic‘s website and I am so excited!
The article is: Am I Not My Brother’s Keeper? I hope you’ll take a look!
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Photo Credit: The Atlantic
Today is the day! Time to vote! I hope you make your way to the polls today to take on your civic duty. I’ll be voting tonight. We have a big race for Governor here in Massachusetts and several important ballot questions as well.
Many people look forward to Election Day bake sales held at their polling locations. Quincy seems to have them sometimes and not others. I’m curious about the history of these bake sales. How were they were started? All over the country, small local organizations raise money this way and it’s a nice tradition.
However, I just learned that Election Day bake sales are illegal in Rhode Island. At least according to an article in the Providence Journal.
PTO President Lisa Gibb said that they have been holding bake sales for years when elections are held at the Edgewood Elementary School in Cranston. She was told by Executive Director of the Board of Elections, Robert Kando, that according to Rhode Island law, bake sales are not allowed.
He said Statute 17-23-17 says, “Any person is guilty of a felony who willfully hinders the orderly conduct of any election.” The article continues.
Kando said, “The key here is the board, and the state of Rhode Island, want to have smooth elections. State law prohibits any events that hinder elections.”
That includes bake sales, he said. “If somebody is running a bake sale, and it’s interfering … the only events that take place at polling places is voting,” Kando said.
Asked if the board of elections has ever notified school departments of the law, Kando said, “You can’t have bake sales, you can’t have car washes … I don’t think the police send out notices saying you can’t have murders. We have a lot of laws,” Kando said. “Do we send out notices for everybody for a lot of laws? No.”
Kando added, “I find it disturbing that somebody thinks there is something more important than voting on Election Day ….
Well, alrighty then. My feelings about bake sales and elections are probably a bit more similar to those of Tim Duffy, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees. According to the article, the baked good ban made him chuckle. “This is the first I’ve heard about it. No Girl Scout cookies, that’s undemocratic.”
Certainly smooth elections are more important than baked goods, but really Mr. Kando. What’s more American than apple pie and chocolate chip cookies?
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Flickr Photo: Patriot Cookies by regan76
In case you’re looking for a good book to read, I thought I’d share one. My Beloved World
My mother and I both happened to be reading it at the same time, so it was fun being able to talk about it with her. This would be an excellent choice for a book club. My Beloved World is quick moving and reads more like a novel. I was drawn in from page one and glued until the end.
My impression of her after reading the book is that I admire her even more. From her youngest days, she had a strong survival extinct and believed in a vision for her future. Her struggle with Type 1 diabetes had a lot to do with it. We learn about her family, friends and close ties that she forms with so many people over the years.
She has a certain joy and fun that made me and my mom both feel like we’d love to hang out with her! Her compassion, intelligence, life and work experiences all run so deep that it makes me so grateful that Sonia Sotomayor is on our Supreme Court. I took the book out of the library and had to return it, but would like to read it again. My Beloved World is a book to buy and have for future reference.
Terry Gross interviewed Sotomayor about her book and life on Fresh Air and you can listen online to learn a bit more.
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Photo Credit: Random House
Halloween was one of my favorite holidays growing up. We lived in a large apartment complex with many buildings and would trick-or-treat in each building on every floor.
It was such a blast and we got so much candy! A friend’s mother would decorate their whole apartment, have scary music playing and she would dress up like a witch. So many years later and I still have such fond memories.
I’ll be picking up some candy today and hopefully we’ll get a few trick-or-treaters. We usually don’t get many, but I still love the day.
Happy Halloween to you and enjoy the links!
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The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows (The American Folklife Center)
Soul Cakes: Hallowed Offerings for Hungry Ghosts (NPR)
Halloween 2014: The horror films and scary TV to watch on Netflix (The Independent)
The Tell Tale Heart – 1953 narrated by James Mason (YouTube)
5 Workouts to Burn Off Halloween Candy (Boston.com)
10 Supposedly Haunted Objects Never, Ever to Bring Into Your Home (Especially Around Halloween)(Bustle)
Here Are the Top Five LA Neighborhoods For Trick-Or-Treating (Curbed LA)
Yes, I Bring My Poor Children Trick-or-Treating in Your Rich Neighborhood (Time)
