So I wrote my congress representative an e-mail, expressing my dismay at how he voted on a recent bill.
This is part of the reply I got back.
“Thank you for taking the time to write to me. I always appreciate hearing comments from my constituents, especially young people who are taking an interest in our legislative process.
I enjoy hearing your thoughts about our helmet laws, and they are important in shaping the way I represent our district. Please know that I have taken the time to read your letter carefully, and will take your views into serious consideration as I continue my work throughout the 110th Congress.”
Somehow I do not believe him, since my original e-mail did not concern helmet laws in the slightest. I suppose I’ll be turning to pen and paper. That seems to get taken more seriously these days.
Oh, and we went to the Dickens’ Fair last weekend, which is like a Ren Faire except set 200 years later, and had a great time with the Hillfolk. Some pictures (Ms. Hillfolk's, not mine; I had stupidly forgotten the camera) are here. I dithered about dressing up or not and finally decided not to*, but I was kicking myself as soon as I saw the steampunk people. Why didn’t I think to do that instead? We met an intrepid pioneer with a new invention that ameliorates the soiling of shoes and clothes while traveling. Science!!!
There were people all over the place acting out various snippets of Victorian stories; mostly "A Christmas Carol," of course, but some other Dickens stuff, and (as you may have guessed from the above) some H.G. Wells, Doyle, etc. Like most things we’ve attended here** we were amazed at the scope and quality of the event. A densely populated area plus years of experience means that you have the time and resources to do things right, and we’re more than happy to benefit. Also, R:tAG found a very reasonably priced frock coat, gloves and spats, which is one less thing I have to make for him. I think I will make him a weskit, since he'll probably want an unusual fabric. I got a hat, but it's too early-period for my polonaise, so that's another dress I have to make. Alas, what a burden!
* I still haven’t completely finished the Victorian polonaise outfit, plus I discovered that an hour’s drive in a corset isn’t all that pleasant. Walking and sitting in chairs is fine, but there’s something about the design of the Honda’s driver’s seat that just doesn’t work well with corsetry.
** The Gilroy Garlic Festival, the Ren Faire, the Pirate Festival, the Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt…
Reasons to be sad and glum and gray and generally wondering why we came down from the trees in the first place:
- The usual early December reason
- A couple of new reasons
- Bad things happening to good people
- We’re not going to be visiting Canada this year at Christmas. R:tAG’s been advised to stay close to home because of the state of his Green Card application.
- Doing another beta test of a friend’s treasure hunt in Palo Alto
- The movie Saving Grace
- That we have our health and are living comfortably doing things we enjoy
- That I actually managed to get card and presents in the mail in time for them to arrive before Christmas. I hope.
- Trader Joe’s just started carrying these frozen chocolate croissants that you take out of the freezer the night before and they magically triple their size and then the next morning you bake them for twenty minutes and jeezum crow, they’re good.
