Coming out of the library

yesterday afternoon someone I know by sight but who obviously knows me asked,
"Cat, is there an election on?"
"Yes."
"Oh, when do we have to vote?"
I explained and he nodded and went on his way.
Now, I don't know him well. Possibly he has been away for a while. I haven't seen him around.
I should have been surprised, even shocked he did not know there was an election on - but I'm not.
This is Mad March. There are hares in the form of "the Fringe", the Clipsal Race, the Adelaide Cup and the Festival. The media has also been concerned with sport. The other distraction over the weekend was the Mardi Gras in Sydney.
In all that there is little or no room in the media for news about a state election.
"The Fringe" - rather like the Edinburgh one - has had its share of controversy this year. I have not been to any of the events and I don't plan on going to any. I am not interested in hearing people read poetry while sitting there nude or productions called "Heckle Christ" or a five hour film which features a great deal of totally unacceptable and unwarranted violence.
I have written elsewhere of my disapproval of "motor sport". I don't like the waste of fossil fuel but my real objection is to the disruption and cost to the lives of others and the way it encourages excess speed in others.
We certainly do not need a public holiday for a horse race - not even the Melbourne Cup is seen as warranting that. A long weekend in the middle of an election campaign?
And then there is the Festival itself. I have not managed to see anything at a Festival for some years now. The tickets for anything I might be interested in are always far too expensive for me to justify it.
This week is Writer's Week. I would like to attend some sessions. It's a rare chance to hear writers speak and talk with others. I had to miss the last one altogether and most of the one before that. It began Saturday and I had a meeting to attend. I was unavoidably otherwise occupied yesterday. There are more meetings today. I'll try for tomorrow's lunch time session at least - if the morning meeting ends early enough.
But, there is an election on - and that means that I have the responsibility of ensuring that a good number of people with disabilities know there is an election on, who their candidates are and how they want to fill out their ballot papers.
I just wish Writer's Week did not coincide with all this.