National Night Out.

The first Tuesday every August is “National Night Out”, a community-police partnership to increase awareness about police programs in communities. On our street, there were approximately fifteen people who gathered together for fellowship, barbecuing, etc.

For the first half hour of the party, my wife and I were the only two people younger than age 50. It turned out that the other 30-something aged folks were the ones who were fashionably late. But we didn’t care as it was a nice evening to sit back and enjoy all the company, regardless of age.

Half way through the get-together, we were privileged to have received a visit from Bruce Sanders, our City Councilman. Naturally, Mr. Sanders was inundated by the folks in our neighborhood who all have their opinions on how the area where we reside can be improved. Living so close to Hwy 10, one resident inquired about the possibility of a sound wall to alleviate the noise caused by congested traffic. Mr. Sanders lamented the fact on how that will never happen. He went on to say how broke MNDOT was and how “this governor” has drove it into the ground. Oh, but he didn’t stop there. According to Sanders, it was only thanks to Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN) that we received the $3.5 billion in funding for 2004-09 but that the only road improvements taking place in Minnesota happen to be in the area where Transportation Commissioner Carol Molnau lives. Yes, demagoguery trickles down all the way to the city level.

Hey, it’s not my fault that Sanders landed back on the City Council. I voted for fellow Protest Warrior Sean Novack.

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