Knee Deep in Tingly Patriotic Feelings.

You've gotta love early voting.

And I timed it just right. I went immediately upon leaving my part-time gig and was in and out of the building in 20 minutes! The way things have been going down here that's practically unheard of.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous. You see, this is the first time I've ever used an electronic voting machine. I know... right? (Do they even have electronic voting in Maine?) I've heard all the nightmares about EVMs -- changed votes, discounted votes, etc., etc. But the voting official at the polling place was really helpful and it was just as easy as I was hoping it would be.

And I got my Getting Choked Up on [Early] Election Day experience. I got to chatting with the woman behind me in line -- which is unusual for me as I don't normally like to interact with the Great Unwashed Masses. But she was visibly nervous. I assumed it was for the same reason I was.

I'm the one who initiated the conversation (again, really unusual for me) as we approached the poster telling you how to use the EVMs.

"This is my first time using one of these things."

"This is my first time voting!"

Huh!?!?!?!

"It always made me nervous."

I have to say, I was really taken aback. It's not like I'm super political. I like to think I'm politically aware, but when it comes right down to it, I'm less an issues voter than I am a go-with-my-gut voter. And I always vote.

It's not like I was raised in a political junkie household, but my parents always voted -- and seeing as the polling place in our hometown was mere steps from our front porch, they never had a reason not to.

They never talked about who they voted for, not to us kids at least. But they always took part in the political process. I guess they were of the mindset that "If you don't vote, you can't complain about the outcome."

I didn't ask this woman behind me in line why this was her first time voting. To me, it's an intensely private issue. Yes, I made certain assumptions: she's older, she's Black, she's in the South. But I kept them to myself.

Instead, I congratulated her on taking this important step and told her that I was really glad she was doing it.

I told her that my experiences with voting officials has always been positive: that they're always really helpful and eager to help with any questions.

That seemed to help.

Which made me glad and gave me a tingly-patriotic feeling.