By Fred Owens
Sisterhood. Let's
talk about the four women in the Senate who each want to be president
-- Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, California Senator Kamala
Harris, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and New York Senator Kirsten
Gillebrand. One of them might be the next occupant of the White House.
They are all qualified for this high office and I would vote for anyone
of them in a minute.
I'm trying to come up
with a name for this group of female senators -- something like the
Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, only not so terrifying, but more
militant than a garden party. Right now they are going around giving
speeches and doing the usual political routine and frankly I'm getting
bored with the progress. Where is the innovation? Where is the creative
difference in style?
Here's an idea. What if
the four ladies work together at some level and show the power of
sisterhood. For an example I am thinking of the tennis stars Venus and
Serena Williams. They are loving sisters but fierce competitors on the
tennis courts. So use your imagination and picture this -- Kamala and
Elizabeth making joint appearances and riding on the same campaign bus,
issuing a joint press release that they decided to ride together for a
day as a way to save gas. They could debate each other most vigorously.
They might dispute and challenge each other, but at the end of the day,
they might enjoy a glass of wine as the bus rolls along from one town to
another in rural Iowa.
How about the lesser
known of the four -- Kirsten and Amy. What if Amy Klobuchar invited
Kirsten Gillibrand to Minnesota for a day of canoeing on one of the
beautiful lakes in that state? What a dramatic video that would make.
Two female senators paddling together on a lake while discussing and
disputing climate change issues.
This
spirit of competition blended with cooperation would set a new
campaigning standard. It would be a lot of fun too. The problem that
women have as presidential candidates is that they think they need to
act seriously in order to be taken seriously. Not so. The truly
confident candidate will make a joke at her own expense. And then make a
dig at Trump. Trump is a truly frightening man so we need to laugh in
his face and overcome the fear he generates.
One of these four women might become president -- but only if the other three candidates stand with her at the end of the day.
Well it's Monday morning here in Santa Barbara and that was my idea for the day.
The Red Truck
Acton,
Massachusetts, 1995. The red Chevy S-10 I had that year was a sweet
truck. Just the right size for hauling plants and soil and tools. I
took it to the nearby garage for an oil change. Lucy Stinziano ran the
place and we talked. She sat behind the desk and I sat across from her
piles of invoices and orders for parts. "We can do the oil change and
give your vehicle a going over. See what needs fixing." I said sure.
I
liked sitting there talking with her. She said, "This was my husband's
business. Danny died two years ago and now I run it. We have two bays
and two mostly full-time mechanics doing the hard work. I'm here at this
desk running things. I'm a single mom now. I have two teenage
daughters, Stella and Mary Louise. They're good kids, try to be good
anyway. My mother-in-law lives down the street, but she practically
lives at our house these days.. I'm struggling. I'm 43 and I expect to
be happy when I'm 50 and get these kids out of my hair -- sell this
business, do something I really like."
Same
here I said to her. I'm a single dad -- divorced -- and I have the two
kids, teenagers. It's too hard. My landscaping business is going well
and I have big plans. Except what good are plans? Mostly I just have
bills to pay.
"Look, " Lucy said, "You can come back on Monday and we can do your brakes. They need it."
I
said fine. I came back on Monday and we talked while they fixed the
brakes. I liked talking to her. She was all business with me, but she
didn't tell me to shut up and leave, so I kept coming back for more
repairs.
Some new windshield wipers one
day. The next week there was a squeal on the fan belt -- might tighten
the belt or need a new one. I was really getting premium service on my
red truck, but I was hoping for something from Lucy. Finally I talked to
her, and told her my life while they installed new sparkplugs and and a
new air filter.
I said to her, look, what I'm saying might offend you ---
"I'm sure it won't."
It's not like I'm your type --
"You're like a college boy, a hippie."
Let
me finish..... I'm not what you're looking for and you're probably not
even looking. But I'm just me. I haven't got a girl friend, not that I
was thinking of you like that. I don't see it like that. I has just
hoping for a bit of your company because I'm running out of money for
repairing my truck.
"We did one hundred percent good work on your vehicle. You got the best of service."
I
didn't mean that. I was just hoping we could do something like see a
movie together. I mean, who wants to go to the movie by themselves? It
wouldn't be a date. I could meet you there. It's just that I like female
companionship and you're nice. I like talking to you....we could just
talk.
"No, not me. Like you said I'm not ready
for that kind of thing. I got too many worries right now in my life. I
got no time for fun."
It wouldn't be fun, it would just be passing the time.
"No, not for me. I appreciate your business, Fred, but that's it."
So that was it -- $700 worth of repairs on my truck and I could even get a date for coffee with Lucy. But I tried.
That's all for this week, take care,
Fred
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