Ducks And Ice Cream At The Capitol

This message had a warm reception at the Capitol today.

Shortly after I got set up in front of the Senate, a middle aged man wearing jeans, a heavy shirt and a hunting cap was making his way alone up the treacherous Senate stairs. He was carrying a real, stuffed Mallard duck, perched on a piece of driftwood. He didn't look like the typical gay marriage supporter, but came right up to me, looked me in the eye, gave me a thumbs up and said, "I totally agree with you." I thanked him and he moved on.

Next, a lobbyist I hadn't seen there before said, "You shouldn't even have to be here," adding that the government has no business messing with our lives.

There was a Spanish-speaking family at the top of the stairs, a man and woman with young children, apparently touring the Capitol. The dad left down the stairs with two of the children leaving the mom with one four year old boy at the top. The aforementioned lobbyist was trying, in English, to ask the mom if her boy would like some ice cream. I couldn't remember the Spanish word for ice cream at the time, of course (elado?), so I couldn't help, and his assistant kept repeating, "ice cream" in French. Eventually, the lobbyist was able to get the mom to understand his intentions and she said, "Si."

The mom and boy waited while the lobbyist went to buy the ice cream. When he returned, he gave the ice cream novelty to the elated boy who then decided to join his dad at the bottom of the stairs. He lay down on the stairs, on his stomach and slid backwards, all the way down. His mom had retrieved the ice cream from his extended hand before he launched. Way to conquer those treacherous stairs.

On the House side...more later.