THINGS I LEARNED TODAY

Me at 3 years old driving the old Farmall tractor.

We later traded it in for an International.

Here's the things I learned today:

If I could drive a tractor at the age of three, I can do that and more today. (Margaret Anderson Kelliher has nothing on me.)

More people watch the 6:00 p.m. news on KSTP, channel 5, than I thought. All day today people came up to me and said, "Hey! I saw you on the news last night!" Celebrity for a day. I even got an email from Harry, a guy I used to work with quite a few years ago at MinnesotaCare.

Mark Dayton and his lead staffers are very clever. Nothing slips by them.

Governor Pawlenty is going to veto the GAMC bill. He would veto his own mother if he thought he could get away with it. What an uncaring, unfeeling, unintelligent, ruthless governor. If the legislators passed the bill in both the House and the Senate, the least the governor could do is sign it.

My pants are getting very loose.

My cat still thinks she's a dog.

Paul Thissen writes excellent letters.

I need to spend time with GYM at least every other day.

The downtown St. Paul post office is going to be relocated to Eagan. (They'll need a big truck to move that building with.)

Some political issues are too controversial to talk about on Facebook.

I still can't sing.

Rob Hahn is a pretty good writer. (Not as good as me, though...)

Chronic pain can cause depression, but Bayer works wonders. So does Diet Coke.

A cat's purr is on a vibrational level that can promote healing.

Most of the people I work with are Democrats.

My future blog posts will include The Politics of Death, CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine), Preparedness Training for Morticians, Big Daddy Squeeze, and Being Ruthless and Relentless in Politics.

It might be harder than I thought to bring back Butter Brickle Ice Cream.

Saturday at my SD53 Convention, I will caucus for reNEW MN.

Unfortunately, since I decided to attend the SD53 Convention, I'll have to miss TELI (Toastmasters Education and Leadership Institute). It's very naughty of me not to attend, and I particularly wanted to hear Craig Valentine give the keynote address, but making sure the DFL has the leadership it needs to face the upcoming election is too important to not go to the convention.

Tall Tales can be exceedingly funny. Golden Rule Toastmasters held their club contest today. We had four contestants for the Tall Tales contest and one for the International speech contest. Bob Boyce from Dept of Commerce took first place in Tall Tales. Greg Doyle, also from Commerce, took second. They both told excellent tales. Bob will advance to the Area 16 contest at Freeman Building on March 2 at 11:30. Dan Vesey, MDH, will represent Golden Rule Toastmasters in the International contest. All are welcome. It's going to be a wonderful, fun contest.

I can convince people to vote for a particular candidate through the use of persuasive speaking techniques.

A sharp spike in viral load causes feverish symptoms.

Brian Klaas enjoys the status of being Brian I.

Okay, that's quite enough new things to learn in one day.

Another Day Gone By

Me on the left; my long ago friend Rhoda on the right.

After work today I took the bus back to the Maplewood Park n Ride. Which reminds me of an old board game I used to play when I was a kid called Park and Shop. I didn't go into the mall and shop, though. I drove to Lifetime Fitness. First ten laps around the track, then 5 miles of stationary biking. Ten laps swimming while watching ten lords leaping. That was a sight to behold...

All that took longer to do than it does for me to tell you about it. I should elaborate. Let's see, how about this...I pinned my political pin to my bathing suit and gingerly stepped into the water. It was not warm. It wasn't exactly cold, but I like my pool temperature to be very warm.

I started getting comments about my pin almost right away. One old man said, "You must be a very ardent supporter." (Mister, you have no idea...)  A young lady told me my pin would get rusty. Then a middle-aged woman swam up and demanded to know why I wasn't wearing a Marty Seifert pin. She showed me hers. It was pinned to her backside.

An elderly couple paddled up to join the conversation. "Oh, Mark Dayton," they murmured approvingly. The middle-aged woman glared. A senior floating nearby said, "I was so mad when the department store closed. I thought it would be there forever."

"When I have lunch at the River Room, I still write my check to Dayton's River Room and they accept it just fine," I offered.

"I miss having a new Santa Bear every year," one woman said sadly. Her head drooped. I gave her my pin and she perked right up.

"I miss the Christmas display they had every year," gushed another. "It was always so elaborate."

"Say," said a third. "Do you suppose if I vote for the young Dayton he would open the store back up?"

I explained that the young Dayton was now the elderly statesman and the solid voice of experience and wisdom. "Oh, what a shame," she said. "I remember the young whippersnapper when he was State Auditor. Time sure goes by fast."

"Time is the simplest thing," I quoted from a book by Clifford D. Simak.

"Time has come today," she flung back, referring to an old song by the Chambers Brothers.

"Time to go," I quipped. "Have a great evening.

I relaxed in the steam room, showered, dressed and got in my car. Out with one cd and in with another. Toby Keith this time. It was either him or Glenn Miller. One of my favorite songs of all time is In the Mood.

Driving home on icy roads is always fun. Slip sliding around. When I arrived, into the underground heated parking I went. Stopped on first floor to get my mail. Voices from the community room. Oh, that's right, this was Thursday. Ladies' night in the party room. I was late for the hen party but now I was in.

They all asked me how the Caucus was. I asked them where they had been, as they had all promised to come. Didn't want to go out in the cold. I explained what happened and how I was now my precinct chair for the next two years. "Oh, you poor thing," they said.

The next thing I knew, five of these senior ladies were talking about how you can't trust politicians and how they never listen to the people or keep their campaign promises. "I'm sick of the whole lot of them," said one.

My feathers got ruffled. After all, these are my candidates they're talking about. I said, "This year it's different. This year we have some great candidates." They weren't buying it. I had to go down the list and explain the good points of each DFL candidate. Good thing Toastmasters taught me to think on my feet. And we have this Tall Tales speech contest coming up...

I quit while I was ahead and came upstairs to hug my whiny cat. At least she didn't bark tonight. Sometimes she thinks she's a dog.

My campaign pin supply is almost gone. Time to replenish. Soon everyone will be wearing one. It'll be a movement. Just like Alice's Restaurant.

I'm going to bed happy. I lost 22 pounds and engaged in my favorite pastime of writing.

Kit E. Khat

This is my cat Amy. Otherwise known as Kit E. Khat. She's mostly a good kitty, but she insists on always having her own way. I can't hold and pet her unless it's her idea. Luckily it's her idea quite a lot.

I've always loved having cats and dogs. I grew up with a lot of them on the farm. We raised chihuahuas. I also had a collie named Pal. Our cats were Boots, Sylvester and others whose names I have now forgotten.

Amy is a very friendly cat. Whenever we have visitors, she goes right up to them and insists on getting some affection. She loves to have her belly rubbed. She also loves to go out on our 3rd floor deck and watch what's going on outside. She hates going out in the apartment hallway, though, and howls loudly to show how upset she is.

Amy loves playing with her kitty toys. Especially the ones with catnip in them. She also loves jumping up on my lap when I'm at the computer. She's fascinated by the cursor moving around on the screen.

Amy is four years old now. I look forward to enjoying many more years with her.