How to vote in style

I waited three hours to vote on Saturday. Let me tell you: people are not playing this election. They're turning out in droves.

Luckily, I was prepared. Of course you know that style is not just about looking good, but about being ready; an essential part of style is grace, and part of grace is manners, and manners is really about knowing what to do, with grace and style, in pretty much every situation. So when you vote Tuesday, be stylish. You will wait, so knowing that, here are some suggestions:

- Get the time off to do what you need to do. If you have to take a sick day, start that cough and sniffling right about...now. (In the etiquette world, white lies are generally accepted as O.K.)

- Again, you will wait. Take magazines, a book, your iPod full of videos, your portable DVD player with a few movies, your laptop, some work: whatever you need to keep yourself occupied and from the brink of losing it for three, four or more hours.

- Take whatever medicines you might need to cover you during long intervals.

- It might rain, so take an umbrella. Bring a raincoat. Wear waterproof shoes if you have them. Dress warm. Bring an extra sweater, and socks.

- Obvi, you can't eat or drink inside a polling place, but if I were you I'd give serious consideration to bringing snacks with you. I'd take healthy and/or protein-heavy foods and snacks -- nuts, fruit, wrap sandwiches, cereal, etc. -- because, as you know, carbs make you sleepy. Oh and BTW, if you have food and there's young or elderly people around you without, you know you have to share right?

- If you have one of those cane/seat doohickies, or some other type of easily portable folding chair, now's the time to whip her out. Sitting on the wet ground doesn't sound like my idea of a party, but hey, if you like it, I love it.

- Observe silence. Avoid getting into discussions with people in line about your politics, whom you're voting for, etc. It might even be illegal, given campaigning rules. Even if the people around you agree with you, someone might overhear your conversation and it could spark all kinds of needless drama. We here at the paper have enough to do without writing about people breaking out into fights outside polling places, thanks so very much.

- And finally, take heaps and heaps of patience. It might rain. It'll take what seems like forever. Remember there are older people in line, and people who've never voted before, and overall lots of people. Just be patient. Whatever you do, DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT VOTING. The minute you even consider it, remember that people in this country made great sacrifices, including their own lives, so that they and others might have the right to vote, and that people in many other countries around the world would do anything for that ability. Don't disrespect that by leaving because you're bored or tired or cold or wet.

If you've been rocking T-shirts and hats and going to rallies and forwarding videos on YouTube and all and then don't vote, I'm here to tell you that you are really wack and dead to me.

Waiting three or four hours was not fun, but when I bubbled in that ballot and slid it through the machine it was worth every second.

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