This morning at 7 o'clock I walked out of my apartment, down the stairs, onto the sidewalk where fallen yellow leaves rested in pools of water, around the corner and down the street to the local home of the Army National Guard where I was to cast my vote.

There were maybe 20 folks in line ahead of me and several more already in the 7 booths set up for voting. I had my camera and took pictures while I waited patiently for my turn to cast my ballot.

When I got to the front of the line, I was asked my name. I told them. But they couldn't find me on the list. Typical. I registered late because I wasn't sure where I was going to be living, but I called the election office yesterday to ensure that I was on the rolls. They confirmed that I was.

I didn't want to be a voter using "one of those other ballots", but what could I do? I figured I would cast my provisional ballot and then call the elections board and find out what was going on.

I filled out the pink affidavit of eligibility. When I gave it back to the bald man with the green jacket, he took one look at my name and thought he recognized it. He pulled out the supplemental voter list and, lo and behold, there I was. I was given a traditional optical ballot and went off to the booth to perform my civic duty.

Why this supplemental list wasn't in the hands of the first two people who were checking people off the rolls I'll never know. It was no big deal. There was a problem, but in the end, they got it right. It seems to me to be apt metaphor for America.

I came back to bald guy with the green jacket, gave him my ballot and he stuffed it into the ballot box which was nothing more than a cardboard box, taped around the edged for "security" with a slit on the top. It seemed so simple, way too simple. But what can you do? As long as my vote gets counted, I'll be happy.