pictures.

Every once and while it’s nice to forget about layoffs, buyouts, the general death of our industry and remember that this job is a privilege. The other night I shared an evening with kind people who care about the community we live in. They helped me to remember.

The night before the election i went to make a preview photograph. I heard about a place where regular citizens were encouraging others to vote. They were a nonpartisan group and had been trained and granted the ability collect ballots on the street corner.

That’s where I met Annie — she was waiting for a ride to the elections office to vote.

Annie Cavil’s grandfather couldn’t vote because he was a slave. Cavil, 81, didn’t think she would vote this year, either, until a nonpartisan volunteer called her at 2 p.m. Monday. She had lost her ballot and the volunteer, Nancy Dorr, offered to drive her to the elections office to get a new one. When she received her ballot, an elections official thanked her for her effort.

“Effort?” Annie responded, tears in her eyes, her voice choking, “This is not an effort. This is a privilege.”

With the help of a voting assistance team, Annie got to vote.

We got one photo of her (the first one) in the newspaper the next day - barely making deadline for the front page. She called me yesterday. She was thrilled and touched to be in the newspaper. She thanked me for all my effort. It was not an effort. It was a privilege.