Thursday before the Carleton forum, my campaign manager and I made a stop at the “Voice Your Vote” exhibit at St. Olaf.
I ran into St. Olaf artist Mac Gimse and Steve and Jennifer Edwins who wished me well in the coming election. We all noted with interest that the exhibit included a slice of pie for each visitor to the exhibit.
When I questioned the students who were serving it up, they had no knowledge of the pie-gate episode, and got a chuckle out of it. Republicans are still complaining and whining about it when a good reading of the law will show they have nothing to complain about, well, maybe from their perspective they can complain about the amendment adding the language that makes my serving pie perfectly legal. All of which reminds me of Stephanie Henricksen and the pie art poster she made for the Minneapolis Institute of Arts exhibit
on the ‘Art of Democracy’. Her work featured Steve Sviggum shouting over a large piece of pie in the foreground “David Bly, YOU MAY SERVE NO PIE!” I blogged about it earlier this month.
A sad note about Stephanie, who recently was the victim of what might be described as a terrorist act. She came home from church and errands around town to find that her domestic ducks, mostly white, had been shot, according to her husband David, probably with .22 caliber long rifle best ar 15 optics. A vehicle with large tires, likely a truck or SUV, pulled onto the side of the road, and someone got out and shot the ducks. The ducks were along the base of her split rail fence at the edge of her property and most of them were killed like the sitting ducks that they were. They are very sociable free range ducks that she keeps in at night, and they’ve had the run of her farm for 12-15 years. “No one has ever shot at my ducks before,” she said. The sheriff checked with the neighbors and filed a report. The DNR has been notified and the new conservation officer is expected to be on the job starting this weekend. Stephanie is disheartened, “Why me? Why now? Why today? Was it that it was the pheasant opener? Was it my signs for Democratic candidates at the end of my drive? Was it my editorial in the Northfield News?”
College students – future oriented
Finally, the final days of my campaign I have been spending a fair amount of time with college students. What a tonic! It’s wonderful to catch their idealism and optimism about the future even in the face of the fact that our generation through the President’s policies are sticking them with a world they don’t deserve and a huge debt they will end up paying unless we change our course.
Which got me thinking about Elmer Andersen again. After acknowledging he did not support the president’s premature invasion of Iraq, Elmer L. Andersen said, “while giving our leaders the support they need to carry on a difficult mission, we shouldn’t go overboard in restricting fundamental rights of our own people. It’s going to be a difficult time.”
I think there’s a certain American spirit that is called forth by necessity, frequently in trying situations . . . it’s part of my own belief that in every incident, there’s something to be learned. When something happens that seems to be a tragedy or a disappointment, there is something to be learned. When something happens that seems to be a tragedy or a disappointment, there is a something to turn to advantage . . . any person can make a difference, any person can add to the culture of the country, any person can add to the happiness of the unfortunate. If we all do what we can where we can, the we’ll have a good country. I think it was Eisenhower who said, “America will be great as long as it is good. If she ceases to be good, she’ll cease to be great.”
These are the words of a great Minnesotan, a youthful voice in a wise and aged heart. as inspiring as the young people I have been visiting with.