I had just voted for myself. It felt exciting and very weird. I was thinking a bit nervously about what a councilman’s workload might be like as I walked out of our fire station polling place and into the cool, damp November air. It was cloudy and dreary. Good weather for worrying.

I wasn’t worried about losing. That I could handle. I was worried about doing a good job if I won.

While standing outside talking to someone I knew, a trash-talker from the other party came over and started in on me.