the navel times and observer

I got flooded by a Republican swamp yesterday, but it certainly swayed my opinion in the election. After hearing Talent speak (and completing another name on my politico card, so far the governor (thrice), Kit Bond (twice), Roy Blunt, Claire McCaskill, John Cornyn and a couple Texas congressmen), I know I'm voting for Claire. The only politico I definitely want to meet is Ike Skelton, my current congressman and a Democrat (thanks!). He'll be here on Monday, conveniently I won't be.

But in any case Talent was on his way through town as part of a value-touting tour and had the governor and the local state rep with him. I got to cover, it naturally, and stand out in the hot sun listening to the baby-faced kid talk about my "Missouri Values", like poking holes in the arctic wildlife refuge for six months' worth of oil, claiming that McCaskill isn't going to do her best to support biofuels or anti-meth laws and telling me my Missouri values include discriminating against millions of gay people by not letting them marry whoever the hell they want to.

I thought it was honestly a little funny, I mean personally while I don't plan on getting married I don't see how my friend marrying his boyfriend is really going to affect the sanctity of my wedlock or that of any of my siblings or cousins.

I really (really) wanted to ask Talent if he planned to enact controversial new anti-divorce laws next session, but it seemed like it'd be kinda flippant. On top of that "protection of marriage" is nothing but a politician-sponsored buzzword for "those fags want to marry in my country?" and they hardly think about it and certainly don't expect anyone else to take it seriously.

So I didn't ask him.

The question I should have asked, the pertinent one, was one I didn't think of until today, 24 hours later. Talent was spouting about the federal anti-meth law he put through which requires cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine to be stored behind the counter at the pharmacy.

The result, he said, would be to "choke off the supply" to meth cooks.

The question I should have asked is simply this. A meth cook will turn a massive profift even if he purchased his cold medicine legally. Enough, I could easily imagine, that it would be worth his while to travel to dozens of pharmacies in any given big city and buy a couple boxes of cold medicine at each one. Heck, he could even go to another slew of pharmacies the next time he's looking to cook.

It's not like he's taking a big hit driving around, and he could bypass the current federal legislation without giving it a second thought.

The question is, what's stopping the meth cook, Sen. Talent?

The other pertinent I had to ask that day was for the governor, who's broadcasted his opposition for the statewide initiative on the November ballot to raise Missouri's minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.50 per hour. I mentioned the issue and unfortunately he filled in the minute and a half I had with him talking about how he was for a federal raise but against a state raise so he would more easily bring new businesses in.

The other thing on my mind lately is my sister and her persistence in getting older.

I just realized tonight looking at Facebook that my sister is actually graduating high school in May. This scares me about as much as I was scared when she turned 16 about two years ago.

Why does this happen? My sister is the only member of my family that I don't remember always being around. Evan was born when I was just barely one and a half, Lee was born just after I turned 4.

But on the day my sister was born I remember waking up early and seeing my mom and dad leave the house. I asked htem what was happening and mom was on her way to the hospital. I even remember dad telling me who our babysitter would be. I don't remember another thing about that day, but I remember that as clearly as yesterday.

Heck, I remember visiting mom while she was still in the hospital with Kelsey. The three of us were there with dad who had brought us by. I don't remember that room at all save for mom was there, but again, it won't leave my head.

I know the stories about Evan picking Kelsey up out of her crib and I've seen several times the video tape of Kelsey being born (the only of the four of us to have that recorded) and the tape ofher first birthday party. It's strange that this person who was only entering 8th grade when we moved to Kirkwood suddenly being just nine months away from adulthood.

I mean it wasn't long enough ago five years ago that my family traveled from San Antonio up to Columbia to drop me off, the first of the four of us, for my first year of college.

There hasn't been enough time gone by for Kelsey to have written me a letter a couple months after I left to tell me how much she missed me. It just hasn't been long enough, even though Evan started college and will graduate in May five years later and Lee went off to school last year.

It just hasn't been long enough.

Ironically, on that note, Kelsey's will be the first of my siblings' high school graduations that I'll actually be able to see. I was in Mexico during Evan's and I was in Toledo when Lee graduated.

I can't help it, though, while I know and want her to go wherever she wants to for college (and I don't think i'm going too far out on a limb to say I don't think she's really too thrilled about extending her academic career, though I believe she knows how important school is), but, given that, I'd still like her to go to school somewhere in state and somewhere not too far away.

Ideally she'd go to school in Columbia, the same school Evan, Mom, Grandma and Grandpa Watters, several relatives and I went to for undergrad and Dad went to for grad school, but it's also only two hours away from me and I'll probably still go up there fairly often next year.

Now, Missouri State's only 50 minutes away, but, honestly, I just don't think the Watters brood is an MSU family.

The only school she's mentioned to me lately is Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, which is a good ways from me, but very close to several cousins already going there and only 45 minutes away from mom's hometown where our grandmother and a lot of aunts and uncles live.

I can't help it, while I'm honestly only vaguely aware of her social life (the extent of my awareness really is just asking who her beau is every few months) and am definitely not anxious to know her every move, I still want her nearby so I know at least vaguely where she is and, secondly, I'll be close by if she needs me.

Kelsey, you know we'll do anything for you.