Mud Season

A cold wind blew in Monday, and while the wind was mostly gone by yesterday, the cold endures today. The first taste of winter, but only a small taste, not even freezing during the day. It would really have been a pleasant day today if it were January 29 instead of October 29.

On Monday I took Lilly and Ann to the Hoffman Estates municipal building, which hosts a flu shot clinic for children every year around this time at reasonable prices. This year, I'm happy to report, Ann didn't make a screaming fuss when jabbed.

The clinic was on the second floor. The first floor sported a polling station for early voting. There was a line to vote early at about 5 in the afternoon. I'd say it was the early rumblings of a large election-day turnout, even in Illinois, where the only real contests are local.

There's been a spirited contest for state rep here in my part of Cook County. At least spirited in terms of direct-mail circulars slinging mud. One candidate has accused the other of running a dangerous daycare center that possibly doubles as a coven, and lately the other has been accusing the first candidate of formerly being a obsequious minion of the disgraced Gov. George Ryan, and then moving on to be a bootlicking lackey of our current Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whom nobody likes (he polls lower than President Bush in approval ratings).

Actually, the use of "coven" and "minion" and "lackey" are my own use of colorful language, but they do reflect the essence of the mud.