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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer, on WNYC. All right, how will you take care of yourself as you're watching the election returns. I think Mike in the Bronx has an unusual one to start out with. Hey, Mike you are on WNYC.

Mike: Hey, how you doing Brian?

Brian: Good. What will you be doing?

Mike: I was able to put together, post corona, I was able to get a lot of cheap used workout equipment, bench press, squat, free weights and all that and I've been using that to cope. I'm going to work out in a little while today and tomorrow I had to deal with the anxiety because the anxiety is severe and the day that Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, I pumped, I had to work out a lot 'cause I was so upset. I'm going to be with my parents, my girlfriend, my friends on election night. Hopefully the Republic survives.

Brian: Will your parents be lifting too?

Mike: So they're a little old for that, unfortunately, they're both definitely-- They're both senior citizens, very lucid senior citizens, I might add, but they're not lifters themselves, but they support my endeavors.

Brian: Mike, thank you very much. Don't gather in big groups on election night. Alex, in Westchester, you're on WNYC. Hi, Alex.

Alex: Hi Brian, how are you?

Brian: Good. Are you mentally prepared for this?

Alex: No, I am not mentally prepared for this. I've been staying, for at least a month, staying away from social media and staying away from the news, it's hard. I'm getting a lot of anxiety about it. I have two little kids, so I'm thinking about their futures and I just hope that tomorrow it's a landslide, either or, it's a landslide and we don't have to have a close nightmare scenario.

Brian: Are you preparing any special foods, some comfort food or anything for tomorrow night?

Alex: To be honest, I don't even know what I'm going to be doing. I don't even know if I want to watch it. I think my guts will tell me, "You need to see what's going on," but honestly, I'm going to try to keep busy and not watch it because I have a feeling that it might go on until the next morning or maybe, that's my nightmare. I just hope somebody just text me and tells me, "Listen it's a landslide, you can watch TV now," or something.

Brian: Alex, thank you very much. Hang in there. Katie in [inaudible 00:02:39], you're own on WNYC. Hi Katie.

Katie: Hi, Brian. How are you?

Brian: Good. How are you coping?

Katie: Well, I sing with the group based in the city and we've got an online rehearsal tomorrow night, which I think most of us are going to be coming to try avoid the stress of watching TV and social media endlessly tomorrow night.

Brian: You're going to be, while everybody else is punditizing, you're going to be singing?

Katie: Well, yes, we're going to be rehearsing for a virtual holiday concert because we can't all be in the same room, super spreading with each other.

Brian: That's very sweet and smart. Do you have any election night eating traditions? Do you have an election night Chilli that you make or anything like that?

Katie: Well, for the last, for the last X number of years, I've had choir practice every Tuesday, so there's always snacks. This year I haven't figured out what I'm going to do, since I will be, not with other people having snacks, I'll be hanging out by myself trying not to freak out too much.

Brian: Katie, I hope you're in good voice tomorrow night. Thank you. Rebecca in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi Rebecca.

Rebecca: Hi Brian. It's great to hear from you. I'm super duper anxious and nervous, so I decided to sign up for two shifts on the democratic party's national voter assistance hotline. From 11:00 AM tomorrow until 11:00 PM, I will be manning the hotline where people who are voting and having issues can call in and we help them navigate the very difficult process of voting and, if there's voter intimidation, they can call in and we log it and they can send people out there. I'm keeping myself busy by helping people vote and hopefully we can, the right side can come out ahead on this one.

Brian: That's interesting. As some people are coping by looking the other way, you're coping by going into the belly of the beast, working on voter assistance.

Rebecca: Yes. It's helping people vote is probably one of the best feelings that you can have. I've been on and off doing the hotline for the past couple of weeks, helping people actually get to the poll or track their ballot, is a pretty amazing experience, so it makes me feel, like I'm actually doing something to affect change.

Brian: Rebecca, thank you very much. Terry in Melbourne, Florida, you're on WNYC. Hi Terry. Is it even harder to cope in Florida, Florida being Florida, than it might be in New York or New Jersey?

Terry: It's really no easier. You have to be somewhat creative, but Brian, I'll tell you what I'm going to do Tuesday evening about six o'clock. I'm going to start on my wine, finish up my dinner, eight o'clock, I'm going to check the results, after that I go to the living room, I put the headphones on and listen to WNYC, news standards and hope I wake up the next morning to find that Trump is gone.

Brian: Thank you very much. By the way, I should say, I haven't mentioned it all show, but of course we will have election night coverage, if you choose the other part of WNYC, the live election night coverage, I will be hosting the seven o'clock hour, tomorrow, national coverage. Then I'll be here a little bit in the eight o'clock hour for some local coverage, but of course all night on WNYC, starting at seven election coverage tomorrow night.

I will also be doing a guest spot on the media election night Zoom gathering, On The Media gathering, I don't know, a million of their virtual friends on Zoom. That will be at nine o'clock, that I'm a guest on there tomorrow night, so if you're interested, that's at the greenspace.org or onthemedia.org, the greenspace.org or onthemedia.org for Brooke and Bob's election night, virtual get together. Daryl in Kansas, you're on WNYC. Hi Daryl, where in Kansas?

Daryl: Well, thanks. Overland park, Kansas, just South of Kansas city. Thank you, Brian.

Brian: How will you be taking care of yourself this week?

Daryl: I'll tell you what, I'm so excited about the election. I just realized it this morning, all the systems in our political system are working, whether I like the way they're working or not, and that thrills me. I also realize that I'm going to be able to survive whatever the decision is because I'm in control of my life and I feel that way. I'm just optimistic, I don't know why, but I'm optimistic that as a country and as a people, we're going to get through this together and I'm looking forward to the results of what's going to happen. We're going to make it America. We're going to make it through this.

Brian: Daryl for cheerleader in chief. May we all make it through this together. Darryl, thank you very much. How about Amanda in Essex County? Amanda, you're on WNYC. Hi.

Amanda: Hi Brian. Good morning. Love your show. The way I'm coping is by picking up a new skill. I joined a little crash group on Facebook and I'm learning how to hand embroider.

Brian: Nice. You're going to be embroidering while you have CNN or WNYC on in the background tomorrow night?

Amanda: Probably yes, but hopefully the concentration and focus I'll need to complete my projects will help me from totally biting all my nails off.

Brian: Amanda, thank you very much. Last one, John in Queens. John you're on WNYC. Hi.

John: Hey, how's it going Brian?

Brian: Special event tomorrow election night?

John: Yes, it happens to be my birthday. I'll be celebrating that, hopefully along with some other news.

Brian: Will you ever have had a more anxiety ridden birthday?

John: Sure, I can name a few.

Brian: Oh, I don't want to know. Any special birthday food or election food? Are they the same?

John: I'm going to get myself some barbecue and my wife's going to make me an amazing birthday cake, so it'll be a great deal all around.

Brian: John happy birthday. I don't know who you're voting for, but I hope it's a happy birthday for you, however you want it to come out. Thank you very much. Thanks to all of you for your calls. Tomorrow's election day. We'll be back then.

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