When we were young, my sister and I used to scour the ditches of the country roads surrounding our property for aluminum cans. Our father equipped us with boots and gloves so that our units of progress would be kept unscathed on our ventures, and we’d fill plastic bags with Mountain Dew and Bud Light cans until our sacks were overflowing, leaving them where they had reached capacity until our hunt had been deemed a success.

I later realized our father gave us this opportunity for multiple reasons. It got us out of the house, allowing us to release our energy while exercising our bodies, and more importantly to me, our minds. I used to imagine that if I didn’t nab 50 cans by the next approaching fence post, the proverbial “they” would win — whoever “they” were. We were also cleaning up our land, and to an extent of which I didn’t understand at the time, our planet. Lastly, we were understanding the value of an income, as Dad would take us to the recycling center and give us the money the aluminum salvation had produced. I miss those days when earning $20 made you rich for a month.

I was sitting out on the porch today and thought of those marches down the inverted shoulders of the road, and in turn about the upcoming presidential election. One of the most important decisions we as individuals will be making in recent memory, the time has once again arrived for us to choose who we want to lead our country.