Voting has looked different through the years, but the reason to vote stays the same | Column

In the first place, I didn’t know what a mistress was. I’m still none too sure.

When the news of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death came on April 12, 1945, I was at a meeting of the Camp Fire girls. We held hands and cried for the only President of our lifetimes and the only President who would serve more than two terms.

The president was a great man. We were sure of that. There was national mourning and it wasn’t until later that the news began to trickle out that, when he died, FDR had been not with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, his wife of 40 years, but in the company of one of his longtime mistresses, Lucy Mercer.

Naturally, at 12, I had no idea what to make of it. In those days news was largely made up of innuendo and inference. I believe I may have liked that better. Anyway, the only thing I knew about mistresses was the nursery rhyme that started, “Mistress Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” So I was left with sort of an image of a garden party that went terribly, terribly wrong.

No telling where I might have ended up with my political beliefs if it hadn’t been for my teacher Mr. Randall. I’ve written about him before. I checked with my classmate, retired Washington state Chief Justice Richard Guy, and we both remember Mr. Randall as being very old — maybe 45 or 50. But his students were all left with one thing: the belief that as Americans, our constitution supplies rules of how we’re supposed to treat each other in an honest and meaningful way, and that I could succeed at anything I wanted.

Justice Guy and I both grew up on the modest north side of Spokane. “I always believed the system was set up for us to succeed,” Guy said. “I still believe that.“

But I woke up this morning to the news that many areas of the country are mobilizing for expected violence on Election Day, and I just keep thinking, “What would Mr. Randall say?”

Years ago, when my daughter was a student at the University of Oregon, I wrote about a memorial service for shooting victims at a nearby grade school. A reader wrote, “I always read your column because you’re funny. Well, you weren’t funny this time.”

I took that to heart for nearly 30 years — and now I’m not funny again. I’m sure many readers will say, generously, “Oh, no, you’re not funny lots of times.”

I remember the first time I voted, in 1956 at the Presidio of San Francisco. The dress was semi-formal. Hat and gloves for the ladies. and, of course, those were the days when military men wore uniforms at all times, on and off duty. The atmosphere was solemn. Since a man in uniform couldn’t carry a baby or push a stroller, I felt lucky I’d been able to get a neighbor to watch my two small ones. I’d watch hers later in the day.

When the time came, I took a picture of the four children playing together. My husband’s mother sent back a note thanking me for sending the picture of “the two plain little children for contrast.”

Nearly 70 years and 23 moves later, it’s election time again. I long for the days when the rules were clear.

“I choose to be ignorant,” a young friend said this morning. My grandson will vote in his first Presidential election and he sends daily videos of speeches we can talk about.

But in this contentious season, I find myself relying more and more on the wisdom of Mr. Randall, who taught a generation of students to not only live the American Dream, but to keep a sharp eye out when it was endangered. And I remember my first vote in 1956, when we all still liked Ike.

Where to find Dorothy in November

9 a.m. Nov. 4 — Coffee, Chat and Change the World: Get registration link at Dorothy@itsnevertoolate.com

2 p.m. Nov. 24 — Legacy, Legends and Outright Lies: At the Dupont History Museum. Dorothy and Tumwater pioneer family member Don Trosper present the story of Puget Sound History. The museum is at 207 Barksdale Ave, DuPont. Call (253) 820-3656 for more information.

Contact Dorothy at Dorothy@itsnevertoolate.com/ Find her syndicated podcast, Swimming Upstream Radio Show, at itsnevertoolate.com, with a new show every Monday.