Monthly Archives: November 2008

Recently, my senator showed me a sampling of mail that he receives at the Capitol. I think he was worried I wouldn’t have enough material to write about.

Anyway, in this stack of ‘stuff’ was a cheat sheet. Not just your normal cheat sheet, but a list of acronyms for the numerous agencies and institutions they deal with on a daily basis down at that marble palace.

Here are a few of them:

ODOT = Oklahoma Department of Transportation
ABLE = Alcohol Beverage Law Enforcement
CLEET = Law Enforcement Education & Training (Huh? How do you get that from CLEET?)
DEQ = Department of Environmental Quality
OSEEGIB = State Employees & ???? ( Guess they didn’t get that one either!)
LSB = Legislative Service Bureau
COGS = Local Government Jurisdictions ( Seriously, who thinks up this stuff!)
DOC = Department of Corrections
OTC = Oklahoma Tax Commission (duh)

And, my personal favorite:

BS = Talk you hear in committees

Next week I’ll post about the swearing in ceremony at the Capitol. That should be a real treat.
Love, the Senator’s Wife

Boxes of Buttons

Several nights ago I asked my senator how he first became interested in politics.
“By default,” he replied.
That response being a little vague, I begged him to continue…
My senator explained that when he was young he was in the hospital with appendicitis for a few weeks.  While there, he could only watch television on the three major networks and a faulty PBS station.   All four were simultaneously broadcasting the Watergate hearings around the clock.  Ugh, can you imagine life before cable?
So, my senator received an early political education as a child and hence, “by default” was  introduced to some of Washington’s finer moments.  I am sure this left a lasting impression.
Although, it would appear that my senator had no problem filing politics safely away in pursuit of other things like girls, football, school, a career in business, and a family.  But, seriously, Watergate?
So, I changed the subject and questioned, “then, where did all the buttons come from?”
“My political buttons”, he asked?  “Oh, I only started collecting those after I ran for office.”
 Surely you jest, Senator! All those buttons?
Let me say one thing about these political buttons.  My senator has boxes and boxes of them.  He has everything from the likes of, ‘Wallace for President’ and  ‘I Like Ike‘, to ‘Disco Obama‘,  ‘Sore-Loserman’ and ‘Homeschoolers for Huckabee‘.  True, he has invested a small fortune in them along with our children’s college fund.  Did I mention that he has BOXES and BOXES of them?
So, I took pictures of this spectacle finding it hard to believe the addiction began after he ran for office.  I mean, this is the guy who lives to shop at Political Americana.
The other night I caught my senator admiring a sampling of his buttons.   Do you think he looks at me that way?  Seriously,  this is a very, scary thing?

Below are a few buttons from candidates who never made it to the big dance.  As you can see from some of the names and faces, we do not discriminate based on party affiliation.  These are the losers, and judging by the sheer volume in his collection, there have been lots and lots of losers.

This one has lights.
And, my personal favorite – the Oklahoma collection.

Sometimes my senator pulls these out at parties.  Other times he might give one away to a friend, but only if he thinks they share a similar appreciation for the history.  I think we will be opening our own ‘Political Americana’ store soon.

Who Knew

 
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!


To be continued…