Voting In Shady Pines Story Town Is A Big Deal!
Make Your Voice Heard
It’s finally here. Election Day. “I VOTED.” Those two words really mean something in our small Southern town.
We take the right to vote very seriously. It’s our way of letting our leaders know what we feel.
It wasn’t so long ago that our very own Edna Sanders ran for mayor of Shady Pines Story Town. Yes she did!
Why you can only imagine the chaos in the Sanders’ household when that happened. Oh, for goodness sakes. You don’t need to hear from me. I’ll let them tell you about it.
“Harold did you vote today?” asks Edna.
Recently home from his job running the Nuts ‘N Bolts hardware store downtown, Harold sits on the couch watching TV.
“Of course I did, honey. I went by the polling place and cast my vote on the way to work.”
Down Memory Lane
Edna settles in beside him. “Remember when I ran for mayor for the Common Sense Party?”
Harold chuckles and turns off the television. “Kinda hard to forget. ‘Ole Mayor Fibbs and his Gimme (Gimme This – Gimme That) Party had no idea you were going through with it.”
Edna nods. “I really didn’t have a choice. You saw how bad things had gotten. Repairs weren’t being done around town. Potholes in the streets; paint was peeling off of buildings and park benches; why even the dog park was closed.”
“It did make you wonder,” says Harold.
Edna continues as her voice gets more emotional. “And then we found out the mayor had new office furniture and a brand new car!”
Harold agrees. “Something wasn’t right that’s for sure.”
Edna sits a little taller. “After the Town Hall meeting when all the facts came out I felt I had to do something. How could I have known our neighbors were going to put me on the ballot?”
Family Gets Involved
Harold sighs. “That was some kind of shock. Yes indeeedy.”
Edna giggles. “Remember how Boomer and Halley got involved?”
Harold closes his eyes and leans back. “I sure do. The craziest part was when that author who writes about us got involved with your campaign. I can still see the image of her turning my truck into a campaign vehicle.”
“I’d forgotten that part,” says Edna. “Our four-legged kids became more famous that me!”
Harold opens his eye and holds Edna’s hand. “And then there was our campaign headquarters.”
“Oh, yeah that,” says Edna. “Our once quiet kitchen sure was buzzing.”
“It was hard to escape the fact that people were talking about the campaign everywhere,” says Harold. “Even the soda fountain in my store 
became a meeting place.”
Working To Make Things Right
“People were fired up, that’s for sure,” says Edna. “But the good part was our neighbors got involved. They wanted to fix the problems.”
Harold stands up and stretches. “And once the mayor realized people were on to him he
did the right thing.”
Edna looks at him and smiles. ” I was so happy Mayor Fibbs did that. He apologized and paid the town back. Honesty is powerful.”
“You know what else was great?” asks Harold. “We all learned a lesson to pay more attention to what’s going on and make sure our leaders are doing right by us.”
“We also made sure to clean up the mess together,” say Edna. “And I didn’t have to be mayor!”
And so folks, wherever you are on this Election Day in America we hope you feel that your vote is important.
If you get discouraged about anything feel free to pay us a visit. Because Kindness and Caring Lives Here in Shady Pines Story Town. And you’re always welcome.