i don’t do well with large gatherings of people – crowd noise can make me burst spontaneously into tears, even if it’s a crowd cheering for joy. large group events like election day send me hiding to my room with a cup of tea and something entirely unrelated – a video game, and encompassing book, a stiff drink. today however found my partner and i running down the block (our morning run, not just gotta-get-there-running) to our local polling place, hoping to avoid the crowds. we succeeded in our civic duties with little distress, but now the waiting game keeps me agitated. tonight we’ll be in the thick of the crowd noise, choosing to attend a large, free election night gathering in Grand Park in downtown LA. I’m going for the beer garden, and the hopes that the cheers of joy will be coming from the political party that doesn’t make me feel like less than a second-class citizen. i hope all my glbtqio friends and allies considered their choices carefully! i tend to believe this country is too large and too politically flawed, but that doesn’t mean i’m not going to participate. get out and vote!