Roughly sixteen years ago when I first met my senator, I had no idea he was remotely interested in politics.  He was a small businessman who liked to volunteer in the community.  He lived in a “batch” pad, had lots of friends and seemed to be a part of most every non-profit fundraiser or civic event in town.   It was not long before he involved me with some of these philanthropic adventures.  My senator had me manning a booth at our local arts festival and attending black tie events.   

We ran a 10K race together, back when we both looked good in spandex.

And, he even got me to ride on a motorcycle! (Shhhh, don’t anyone tell my dad!)

Regardless of all the quality time we were spending together, conversations about politics were just not discussed. And, believe it or not, it was a welcome relief to this political junkie. I mean, what if his political opinions were vastly different from mine?  After all, I had just returned home from Washington D.C.  having spent several years working “inside the beltway” . I had campaigned for our state’s senior U.S. Senator back when he was Governor. Yes, I was only seven at the time, but politics had always been my sport and I had some serious political opinions. This good looking, businessman, ‘ not yet senator’ was a breath of fresh air!  Besides, I am sure he knew that anything remotely related to politics would be a horrible way to converse on a first date!