Democracy is messy

The weather prognosticators were right. It was a very hot and humid day in St Paul. I got in my tennis early, actually about the same time that the women's semifinals were being contested at Wimbledon. Curt and I met at 9:00 at the St Clair courts for some drills and recreational smacking of the tennis balls. As it turns out the courts are in use in the morning by the St Paul Urban Tennis group who are working with a lot of young people, teaching them tennis and life skills. We relocated our drill to a court on McKubin Street where we were able to use up an hour just hammering forehands and backhands. It wasn't hot yet when we finished, so I mowed the lawn and had some lunch.

Since Minnesota has pretty much stopped functioning because of a disfunctional political class, I thought I'd visit the state capitol and see what the rascals were up to. I heard on the radio that there were demonstrations and that the leaders of the opposing sides might be meeting this afternoon, so I drove through the heat and humidity to the building depicted below. It's a nice building and a place I've been many times before. There were a few demonstrators brandishing signs on the outside, but I discovered that the people's capitol was open to the people, and that it is air conditioned, so I went inside.

I know where the governor's office is and I went to check it out. Most of the Minnesota media were represented there with photographers and reporters waiting in front of the guv's office for the decision makers to show up and explain why they couldn't come to some agreement to keep the state from shutting down. No one came out to explain themselves while I was there. I talked to a photographer from one of the TV stations in town. We talked about the portraits of the governors on the walls and he said that the walls are full and there is no room for Pawlenty's portrait. Somehow it seemed fitting. I told him about Gov. Harold LeVander, whose last name is "red navel" spelled backwards, a fact that the photographer was too young to have noticed and something that continues to amuse me even after all these years.

So, while I was chatting a group of boisterous demonstrators came through and gathered near the office of the governor and started a loud responsive chant, calling on the leadership of the legislature and the guv to do their jobs and get the state back in operation. I'm not sure it had much of an effect, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The demonstrators eventually toned it down and most left. The local media stayed around to see if progress would be reported on a possible compromise. It's their job and they get paid pretty well for it, so they may still be down there. And the state officially shuts down at midnight. I hear that all the rest stops on the freeways are already closed.

Democracy is a messy business.