I told my once PCV (potential campaign volunteer) who has become actualized that yesterday was a great family day but not a good campaign day. It started out with my not thinking to turn the calendar ahead to August and missing my meeting with the Editorial Board to interview for the primary. On the other hand I did get to go see my first performance by Grammy award winners with my two grandsons. The Okee Dokee Brothers are native Minnesotans and I can highly recommend learning their infectious song “Rosita Mosquito.” “Can You Canoe?” ain’t half bad either.
While the editors sat in their conference room wondering where I was, I was at the Duluth Public Library listening to Okee Dokee music and watching DNT photographer Bob King take pictures for today’s paper. We waved at each other.
Later the family went to Grandma’s in Canal Park and sat under an umbrella on its upper deck and watched the Ariel Lift Bridge rise and fall for ship traffic. Then I had an unexpected three-hour babysitting duty that was prolonged by life and hindered by my having forgotten to carry my technological life line with me – my Samsung 4G phone.
I had a couple of tasks to do but no way to accomplish them and then I went to my Grandson’s first test to get a belt for his martial arts class. He broke a piece of wood and got the new belt. Hooray!
Then I got home and opened an email from the Trib’s education reporter asking me all the usual nosy questions about my race for the School Board. It led to a little back and forth email banter in which I learned that I’d stood up the Editorial Board. I rolled my eyes at myself knowing I would almost certainly be given a chance to make it up. I just called Chuck Frederick and I’ll be seeing them this afternoon instead. Whooo!
Still, I really wanted to use this day to clear my head and start out fresh. To that end I managed to spill a pot of coffee and grounds all over the kitchen stove when I rushed to turn off a timer alarm. It was not an auspicious start for a good head clearing day but I can attest that the floor under our stove has not been cleaner since its last cleaning six or seven years ago. That, at least, is Okee Dokee.
Now I’m going to move a half dozen bankers boxes of files out of my office to the attic which I will then attempt to pick up and organize in a larger effort to simplify my life for the upcoming three months of campaigning for the school board. That’ll be Okee Dokee too.
