A feature on 20 Texas State House races from The Burnt Orange Report and Annie’s List. Check it out.
Remembering Robert Russell
Robert Russell died this past Sunday, while visiting his sister in New York.
Robert and I met at my very first CGS Democrats meeting in January 2006. I noticed him immediately because he took pictures and audio recordings of the meeting - and because he said he was a reformed Republican!
I worked closely with Robert for years. When I was the president of the Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake Democrats, he was my secretary. I always got a kick out of his meeting notes, sometimes seven pages long. He got everything. I told him several times that I laughed over his minutes and he said he wasn’t trying to be funny, but he was happy I was amused. He was meticulous with notes, maps and photographs.
Robert was the ever present photographer. He photographed some of my favorite photos with Jeremy and friends at Mid-Cities Democrats, Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake Democrats and Drinking Liberally events, and of course documented so much of our organizations over the years. My favorite has to be of Owen, taking a break from pulling up Gary Page for Congress signs, pulling around a little mother duck and her waddling ducklings toy. Robert printed it out for me and captioned it “Owen, the Littlest Campaign Worker”. It’s hung in our house since.
Beyond photography and politics, Robert was passionate about wine too. He was the only person I have ever known to carry around a personalized corkscrew, a portable wine bottle thermometer or have the word “GRAPES” as a vanity plate. That’s dedication, folks! At parties and fundraisers, Robert used to tell me, “I knew you’d be here tonight, so I brought this bottle of ____,” whatever it was, it was always a red. He knew what I liked.
Jeremy was so impressed with Robert’s party gifts at a function in our home way back when, that he started looking for the right cheeses to go with our after-dinner wines. I wasn’t the biggest fan, but Jeremy makes a special effort to do what Robert did. When Robert’s cancer took a turn for the worse, he and Judith brought us a case of their own wines that was so big, I couldn’t carry it in. We toasted to Robert and enjoyed every bottle.
Robert was on my side. When I hit professional and personal bumps in the road, he was there with encouragement. He was smart and clever and always reassuring. Phone calls and e-mails told me to not let certain events spoil my day and that he supported me 100%. Robert was kind and gentle and teased me only once - about my voice - with a pitch so high people still ask for my mother when I answer the phone.
I last saw Robert at a MCD meeting in March. We missed his presence recently, but knew he was having more bad days than good. When I got the call about Al Polsky I got an immediate sinking feeling about Robert. I told some friends and late Thursday night got an e-mail from Brad saying his e-mail from that day had been returned, saying Robert had passed. It was near midnight so I could not call, but I called Robert and got VM Friday morning. It was good to hear his voice. Judith called back immediately and said Robert had died. I told her how sorry I was on behalf of our MCD family and that we would all want to know about memorial information.
I just loved Robert Russell and to write that he will be missed doesn’t come close to expressing the loss.
Robert’s funeral was held Friday in New York. His memorial service in Texas will be held at a later date.
Robert is pictured in our home for a holiday social, photographing a “100 for $100” party and with the first CGS Democrats officers.
Weekend Pileup
Owen is over the moon about his half-day of school today and that tomorrow will be a snow day too, just like in the book “Snow Day” that he checked out from the library last week. How did he know?
It will be a long weekend, but I need another week for my Saturday and Sunday plans. There are ten events including best friend’s birthday party, two Valentine’s brunches (on the same day at the same time!) and a political rally that I want to attend.
We have had weekend pileups before, but never like this. How’s a lady to choose?
Our Pen Pal Letter
“Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Dear Monjama,
My name is Kathleen Thompson. I am a thirty-one year old mother of Owen and wife to Jeremy. We live in Grapevine, Texas and are members of First United Methodist Church in Colleyville, Texas.
Owen is four years old and he attends a nearby preschool. He likes to play baseball and help me in our garden. He knows how to write his name and is learning to write in cursive.
Owen and I decided to trace our hands for you, so that we could show you something about ourselves in addition to a picture. Owen traced my hand on the green paper and I traced his hand on the yellow paper.
We would like it if you would trace your hand on your letter back to us so Owen could see something about you. He was excited to hear you are nine and you are older and bigger than him.
Owen loves to read too and we have not read the book listed as your favorite, “The Lorry and the River”. We will have to find it. Owen likes books about animals and friendship.
Owen’s favorite color is pink. Do you have a favorite color?
Owen likes to sing and he is practicing with the other children at church for a Christmas program. Do you like to sing?
Jeremy and I have been married for five years and we have been a couple for ten years. Jeremy is an only child and I have one older brother named Charles. He is a chemical engineer.
My husband Jeremy is a designer and I used to work as a journalist and now I work in Democratic politics.
What profession would you like to be in when you are older?
We are excited to be pen pals with you, Monjama. We look forward to hearing from you.”
In Defense of FB
Over a recent dinner with a girlfriend, the topic of Facebook came up.
She won’t get an account because of start up funds from the CIA or something along those lines, but also, not wanting private companies to have so much information about her.
Jeremy countered that there are so many people online, there’s no way “they” can keep track of us all. She said, yes, there is a way.
I love my FB account. I keep up with a childhood friend from my time in Varna, Bulgaria. I keep up with high school friends. I see what my adult friends are doing daily and I see hilarious and lovely photos of their darling children.
Several months ago, I was “friended” by a man I attended private religious (read fundamentalist evangelical) school in Colleyville with. We were not close by any means, but we had small class sizes and I spent many years knowing this kid. We ended up at the same high school, but he escaped private school many years before me. When I finally transferred to public school, I was so used to a small circle of friends, that when I made friends at GHS, it was another small group. When he asked to add me I had to wonder if he had mistaken me for someone else. I have never asked him, because I am sure the answer will be yes. Anyway, I think this fellow is a wonderful progressive and I really enjoy his politically related posts. Who’d have thought we’d have an online relationship all these years later through Facebook?
I have had to block access to a few people. But happily, they are not part of my life and shouldn’t be reading about what I am doing online. Unless they read it here. This blog is universal and my Facebook account is private.
My big brother is notoriously bad about communication. He is always happy to take a call or e-mail, but reaching out isn’t his thing. Luckily, his wonderful fiancée is on FB and I can read about them any time I like.
And I like to show off Owen and Jeremy on my FB. Apparently my recent posting of the new “Slip and Slide” and Jeremy trying it out has become “Internet Gold” for Jeremy’s friends and co-workers. He’s “known” throughout his professional community, or so I was told by a dozen or so strangers singing his praises at his recent Big (D)esign after-party. A friend of his re-posted the video and it went far and wide.
I really like my FB account. What a great social networking tool. I’m going to keep working on my girlfriend. But if she won’t get on, maybe I can get her fiancé to.
UPDATE: Wrote this days ago. This morning the name of my first boyfriend showed in my “people you may know”. Yes, I know him.
And I am sure Jeremy will be OK if we become FB friends!
Besides politics, gardening is a favorite. These were the flowers I cut to make arrangements for my mother and mother-in-law for Mother’s Day.
Parking
For the part four days, we’ve celebrated the Thanksgiving week with my in-laws and grandparents-in-law from Indiana-Illinois-now Missouri.
This side of the family is very Republican and we don’t talk politics together. My grandfather-in-law has told me repeatedly that anything that Jesse Jackson and Ted Kennedy are for, he is against. Too bad!
When I first met the grandparents-in-law, in their Chicago suburb home, they gave me a tour of their three story apartment. Jeremy gave me no warning. As I entered one of their guest rooms, I think neighbors could hear me gasp at the Ronald Reagan dedicated room with more memorabilia than the Reagan Library, I bet. We didn’t talk about how ketchup is not a vegetable, but I wanted to.
As we pulled into the neighborhood where my in-laws live, Jeremy said he wouldn’t park in the driveway to let Owen use his scooter freely, then backed up towards a neighbor’s home instead of his parents. That same excuse was used daily, but we both knew the parking truth - hide the “Sarah Palin: Dick Cheney in a Skirt” and “Texans for Obama” bumper stickers!
“Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony? Is it too much to ask that she come to realize that she wants, in that wonderful phrase in American politics, “to spend more time with her family”?…”
“Dream Johnsons”
Rarely am I told by anyone that they have dreamt about me.
Our friend had a dream about us last night and then e-mailed Jeremy about it. The dream was too odd and too good to keep to ourselves!
Published with permission, here it is in its entirety:
I had a dream with you and Kathleen in it last night. I thought I’d capture it in an e-mail to you since I rarely remember bits of my dreams. So here I am, early morning rattling off nonsense to you via gmail.com.
For some reason I was meeting you and Kathleen outside on a grassy lawn where there was a long concrete slab with two picnic tables on it. I got there and I was really thirsty and hungry. The drink machine was broken so I could only buy something to eat, a chocolate ‘T’. I stared at my wrapped chocolate ‘T’ for a minute, disappointed with the fact that I didnt have anything to drink with it, but when I turned around there was a water fountain where there wasn’t one before, I was happy. I said hi to you guys, took a bite of my chocolate ‘T’ and put it back inside the cool vending machine drop spot because it was too hot outside to hold the chocolate ‘T’ without it melting. Anytime I wanted another bite I figured I’d just go over and retrieve it from the vending machine each time.
I went over and sat across the table from you guys. I dont remember saying much before two guys came over and sat down at the other picnic table. For some reason they seemed liked construction workers, it was almost like we were at their break time tables. Whatever was said led to one of the construction worker guys dropping in on our conversation, apparently about politics. This led Kathleen to take the initiative and share some info with them. When she got up I remember almost sharing a brainwave with her, I remember her thinking, “I will not miss an opportunity to share info, not this election.” So as she gets up Im suddenly sitting at the other picnic table, across from the two construction guys. I get a good look at what Kathleen is wearing, pink capris with a white t-shirt and what could only be perfectly matching pink blush on her cheeks. I look over at you still sitting down, kind of hunched over the table, you smile and shake your head just slightly. When you smiled I noticed that you were either missing your left front tooth or your two front teeth were so far to the right that there was quite the gap between your two front teeth and left incisor. Weird, I know. You were wearing the same dark button up and jeans you wore on Friday.
So Kathleen has gotten up and given us all a sheet of paper, photocopies of some handwriting. On one side the paper is handwriting in cursive, Kathleen tells us it’s a song, a popular song. The first half is an old 70’s song we all know, the second half is scribbled over heavily, you can barely read it. Somehow what was left out really supports this point that Kathleen is trying to make, I don’t know what her point is at all, but it’s something related to this year’s election.
After we’re all kind of intrigued by this relic she’s provided us copies of, she asks us to turn the sheet of paper over. The other side the paper is a golden yellow. The song has been printed on this side in red type. The first half of the song is in sans-serif type, the song we all know. The second half of the song is printed out in something like calligraphy, very ornate and hard to read. I read the first half of the song and then go on to the second half. For the life of me I cant remember the song lyrics now, but in my dream they followed the flow of the song, rhymed, and were brilliant I remember. Brilliant mainly because I remember thinking it was sad they were left out of the song. The lyrics were about Jesus and something about the nation being a little less racial. I remember ‘racial’ was circled, indicating that whoever made this printed copy wasn’t sure if the original handwriting said ‘racist’ or ‘racial’. I think the line in the song was “…and the world would be a little less racial”.
So Kathleen went on, somehow this song with lost lyrics about Jesus and racism had something to do with this year’s election. All I remember from here on out is that as I read the song the piece of paper became smaller and turned into an oval foil-like piece that you would peel off a bottle, under the bottle cap. I remember squinting to finish the rest of the lyrics since the piece of foil had gotten so small.
Ok, that’s about it. Perhaps a waste of your time to read, but interesting for me to document. I really wish I could remember the song. Like I mentioned, I remember the lyrics and flow all making sense. I would have loved to put the modified song out there to the public if it made sense, like a lost amendment to a popular 70’s song.
Have a good one,
_____
