After

Spoiler alert: she was.

This is my maternal Great Grandmother, Minnie Palmer Flournoy who died about a decade before I was born. I know of her from the stories told by my maternal grandfather, her son, and my mother, her granddaughter.

Born around 1859 or 1860 to Missouri pioneer parents (Minnie later listed her birth year as 1867), Minnie Palmer married in the 1880s. Her husband, my great-grandfather Richard Flournoy, was tragically killed in a railroad accident when my grandfather was about a year old. As a woman, the railroad was less responsive to the needs of a young widow; Minnie had to get an attorney before the railroad offered any settlement for her loss.

And so, with little means of support, Minnie returned from Albany, New York, where she had been living to Missouri. She worked with her father in the family's hotel in Stansbery, Missouri, and eventually managed a Boarding House in St. Joseph, Missouri, while also working as a seamstress. A strong and resourceful woman in the early years of the 20th Century, Minnie would have been stymied by opportunities available to females.

It was unsurprising to learn Minnie Palmer Flournoy marched with suffragettes in Missouri before the 19th Amendment was ratified.

Whenever I head off to vote, I think of women from Minnie Flournoy's generation who had the courage of their convictions to be vociferous in supporting a woman's right to vote. History tells us this was not an easy battle, and oftentimes supporters were met with derision and violence. So, as a descendant of a woman who felt it important to ensure women's voting rights, it is hard to imagine sitting out this election. Or any election, honestly.

My Mom, Minnie Flournoy's only grandchild, also voted this year. Mom is 101. She needed to arrange for an absentee ballot, called her Town Clerk, and had that ballot mailed to her at her temporary residence. This would be an incredible 80th opportunity to vote, and the 20th time she voted for President.

So yesterday I voted early to ensure that nothing would prevent me from casting my ballot. I honor my great grandmother's courage in advocating for my own voting rights by getting off my butt and voting. No excuses. It has been this way for as long as I've been able to vote. I read, I listen, I make a decision. Rain or shine, easy or hard, I vote.

But I also thought of my granddaughter and what kind of world she might look forward to should the former president be elected to a second term.

For me, the choice this election was an easy one. The former president and his anointed vice president have made clear what they plan for our country should their campaign be successful. The vengeance in their rhetoric, the lies, the hate, the manipulation. This election should be a slam-dunk. Instead, it's a head scratching virtual tie. Have we all gone mad?

I hope the fever dream that has pitted a wannabe celebrity against a highly educated and thoughtful candidate breaks on November 6th with the election of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. To do that, every Democrat will need to get to the polls. It should not matter if voting is convenient or not. Stand in line, and if it is long, wait. Be sure to get to your polling place in time to vote and know the rules for that. Participate in Early Voting if that's an option, mail in your absentee ballot so that it reaches your local election office by the deadline. If you are confronted with a voter registration issue, demand a provisional ballot. That is your right.

It is my fervent wish and greatest hope that the dreams of my great grandmother, who had the conviction to be part of the suffragettes, reach full circle and that I can at last address the President of the United States as "Madam President".