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Pandora just became one of Tedd's favorite people. She's a mother who's stayed by her son for centuries.

Are you saying you met Irene Cara, or do I need to call the bailifff in here? Agreed. One other politician I met on the trip who is not so famous as Ron Paul, father of Rand Paul, would be congressman J. J. "Jake" Pickle, leader of the House Ways and Means committee and Representative from the district in which my grandfather lived. I went to his office on our off day, just wanting to get a ticket to see the House chamber, but when he heard who I was and who my grandfather was, he invited me into his office, making a military person wait while I went in! He was a charmer, who talked to me about the help he'd given my grandfather during the Great Depression (yes, he was very old), he talked to me about the age of his office room, and not much else, but he gave me time from his day just because he was friends with one of his constituents! I respected his privacy and did not take any photographs in his office. I'm still glad I didn't, because I've got that image burned into my brain forever. No one else would consider this a brush with fame. I consider it a brush with a great man.

Our girl scout troop spent some time learning about hunger issues and then took a trip to Washington D.C., where our troop leader had arranged visits with some of our congressmen. One, named Dixon, stood us up; we never got any further than his waiting room. I'm pleased to say he was not re-elected. The other one I remember is Senator Paul Simon (who once co-hosted Saturday Night Live with the other Paul Simon). He was friendly and gracious and gave a group of schoolgirls as much respect and attention as he would any powerful rich white male. It was a great trip and I learned a lot, one of the most important lessons being that politicians, like any other profession, are individuals, some good folks, some jerks, some kind, some evil. I can't help but think that anyone who claims all politicians are evil, hasn't bothered to actually meet many politicians.

https://egspinups.tumblr.com/image/151257189135 One pinup.

This should need no further introduction...

We have a little shelf at work with children's books, and another above it with a small collection of stuffed animals. Today a little girl was hugging a golden retriever I'd acquired at a conference, which I must admit is one of my favorites and I would not want to see it wander home with anyone else (our Clifford disappeared a year or two ago). So, while mom was paying the bill, I chatted with her and her older sister. I told her she'd have to put the doggie back on the shelf, because a lot of other kids loved seeing him too, and she could visit him the next time they came in with their bird. As she was child-version-of-subtly trying to delay putting the toy down, she asked what his name was, so I told her he had a lot of different names because different kids give him different names, and asked what she wanted his name to be. She replied that she thought it was a girl and her name was Rosie. I grinned and told her that it was fine, she could be a girl if she wanted to be, just like the Doctor. Well, the whole family got what I was saying immediately, and everyone shared a cheer at the fact that the Doctor was going to be a girl. I love it when geeky references are embraced instead of getting a puzzled look!

Bailiff, whack that reply with a large, floating brick.

Did you also discover their secret?