Before I got home to watch the returns, about 5 p.m. CDT 11/4/2008, I was in line at the grocery store when a woman in front of me was paying for a few items with a card.  The thirtyish check out lady said, "That's a $6.53 balance," which I initially thought was odd, because it didn't immediately register that she was paying with a food-stamp card.  She had bought an already cooked chicken, and food-stamps did not cover it.  The customer was embarrassed and mumbled something to the effect that she would have to leave it.  This check-out lady, who probably makes something like $10/hour, reached in to her pocket and took out $7 in crumpled bills to give to the customer to pay for it.  She wouldn't take the money, but as the customer was leaving, the clerk followed her for a bit and handed her the chicken with a little more insistence, and she took it.

I was strangely moved.  All I had been thinking about all day was this election, but suddenly it didn't seem so important.  I checked out and with a debit card and got a little cash back, and I tried to pay the clerk for the chicken, but she wouldn't take my money.  I said, "let me get this one."  She just said, "I'm OK, really, but thank you."  She just looked me right in the eye and smiled.  I took my stuff to the car and cried.

I went home and watched the returns nervously and quite a bit later I drank a glass of champaign after seeing that Nate Silver had made the call for Obama. I admit I had to check out what Nate was saying before trusting the network call.  Then I relaxed, but I didn't really feel anything. It wasn't emotional, even though it seemed like it should have been, because I had a lot invested.  It just did not hit me the way that witnessing this act of kindness in the check-out line had hit me earlier.    When I remember this historic day, the authentic kindness I saw at the grocery store will be a big part of that memory.