How to tell when your recovery is incomplete:
Greg Laden posted a Wellstone quote about equality on his blog yesterday. One of the commenters suggested that Wellstone meant equality for everyone but Wellstone. I very, very, very carefully did not rip said commenter's heart from his ribcage and feed it to him, but only because he clearly didn't know who he was talking about. Unfortunately, I don't really have a good use for the adrenaline spike just at the moment. Time for a walk, I think.
Update: The walk helped, but not as much as hearing the busker in the skyway singing Obama's praises. I don't know whether he was secure in his audience or just so committed that he didn't care whether he got any tips during that song, but either is fine by me. Hurrah for unbridled enthusiasm!
June 04, 2008
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I have to tell you a story. Ever hear of the Friendly Fridley parade? Well, I lived in Fridley, so we went.
Standing on the side of the parade this guy comes walking down the street between floats of this-or-that princess's with a few people around him. I'm standing there with my daughter, Julia, right on the curb. So this guy comes over and shakes my hand and sais "Hi, I'm Paul Wellstone, I hope I your support this November."
So I said "I'm new in town, what are you running for?" And he replied "US Senate" and continued on his way.
This would have been in June, and literally days after I moved here, if memory serves.
So, what was the anti-semitic misstep? I did not know about that.
Well, I remembered that wrong. Boschwitz got in trouble when one of his supporters called Wellstone a bad Jew. His wife, Sheila, was Christian, and his kids were raised in her faith. Boschwitz was already falling behind, but that cemented the deal.
You tell good stories. That would be the 2002 race?
I never got to meet him. I worked in downtown St. Paul for seven years during and after college and met a bunch of politicos, including Sviggum, who comes across as much more plausible (and less undead) in person. I've even met two former state Supreme Court chief justices. But since Wellstone came almost out of nowhere, it didn't help me there.
No, that was the previous race, when he won for the first time (I think). He was a nobody.
Yes, now I remember the "bad jew" comment.
I have to go to wikipedia and double check my memories on this one.....
No, it was his first re-election campaign.
1990? I didn't think, from some other story or another, that Julia was that old.
Maybe Julia is faking her age so she doesn't have to go to work and earn herself a living...
1990 Wellstone runs for Senate against Incumbant Rudy Boschwitz and wins
1996 Wellstone defeated Boschwitz again
2002 Wellstone runs for a third term, this is when he died.
So it was the 1996 election. Julia, by the way, has only the vaguest memories, which may be reconstructed ones, of Boston. She is almost 13.
Hey, wait a minute. That puts her in my target readership--for fiction anyway. If Julia's interested in reading a prepublication SF novel and offering some vague feedback, let me know. I've been told by slightly older kids it doesn't suck, but younger would be good too.
And, um, oh yeah. You said "re-election." Reading comprehension drops this time of night. Sorry.
I think Julia would LOVE to read it.
(I'm not assuming, I asked her and she said, 'of course')
If you don't mind, I'd like to jump in and add that, as someone who lives much farther South (in a tiny dot of pale blue surrounded by deep red) I envy Minnesotans for having had someone like Senator Wellstone. I've never heard the exact quote, but I've never forgotten an idea that was attributed to him that it's a sad thing that when you're poor no one wants to help you and when you're rich people will fall over themselves to give you things.
The world lost a wonderful person when he died.
Christopher, I don't mind at all. Really, I don't usually go around wanting to tear people's hearts out. :) That was what let me know how hard I was still taking his death, six years on. Every state deserves a senator that good.
I understand. You only want to rip someone's heart out when (a) they say something that has a significant emotional impact on you, and (b) they deserve it because they're an idiot.
You've got it! And I try to actually do only some small percentage of (b). :)
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