I Still Have A Minnesota Driver's License...

From the Washington Post, "Reliable Source" column penned by Richard Leiby:

"Garrison Keillor is urging fellow author, radio host and Minnesotan Al Franken to take the plunge and prepare for a U.S. Senate bid (as a Democrat, natch). "Al ought to give up radio, which is awfully hard work for a TV guy like himself, and establish residence in Minneapolis, near where he grew up, and get himself a late-model car and drive around and see the state. It's a wonderful place and, doggone it, people would like him," Keillor said in an interview published Saturday on Salon.com. "I'll do some fundraisers for him myself."

The man from Lake Wobegon calls Franken "a natural on the stump -- he has a terrific grin that makes people feel good, unlike so many Midwestern liberals who are about as warm as a concrete block." Keillor, an ardent foe of current Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, rules out a race of his own. "Writing is the best way to spend what time is left to me," says the 62-year-old. "Sit at my dining room table and try to write what is given to me to write -- a comic novel, a sonnet, a Lake Wobegon story, a parody of the president, a limerick about a lady named Reba who cried out in rapture, 'Ich liebe,' a rhapsody to homegrown tomatoes." You betcha."

But for the fact that uber-con Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer doesn't count absentee ballots unless they're cast for the right (ask anyone about the Mondale/Coleman race, or click here), I would most certainly do my best to cast my vote for Franken.

Settling Down, Figuring Out

It's amazing how long it takes to get settled, once you move. There are the obvious steps, putting things away, painting, getting your mail forwarded, but there are so many other intangible things to do before you can really feel at home. Like meeting your neighbors, figuring out where the nearest grocery store is, and where the nearest 7-11 is when you just don't have the energy to walk all the way to Safeway just for C2, cream, and gum.

Trying to put my house in order makes me focus on putting my life in order. Now that I'm in the place where I want to be, residentially speaking, am I in the place where I want to be in other aspects of my life? Job, relationships, health, experiences? I think a little bit of self-examination, every so often, is a good thing. For me, I find that it's a lot easier to take inventory of all of these other things while I'm sorting through old papers and clothes. Finding reminders of goals that I once held, relationships that I once had (or still have!) helps me to figure out whether I'm happy with the track that I am on.

And in addition to being the catalyst for deep, penetrating soul-searching, throwing out half of your closet makes the room look really nice. I highly recommend it.