Last night I went to a monthly get-together of area Democrats. It was held in the banquet room of Turkey Red, a local, upscale restaurant. It was a $25.00 a plate fundraiser. I figured that I’d be able to mingle and talk with attendees about the Motorized Jim Creek Parcel Master Plan.

There were approximately 50 people in attendance. Those there were mainly middle aged and older. Some were well dressed, most others less so. The two younger people were (as my sister Eleanor would say) worker bees – the male and female servers were working

their butts off – by the evenings’ end, they could no longer hide the fact that they were quite tired.

It was a very low-key gathering. People were attentive, and listened carefully to the meeting organizer, and to the guest speaker, the Mat Su Borough Superintendent of Schools. This was far different than what I’m used to. For example, the tenor of the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce gatherings is considerably different. The attendees (who are mainly Republican business owners) tend to table thump, back slap, and loudly applaud any announcement or speaker. They’re like the dwarves in the Hobbit. The attitude is what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine. Gimme that hockey stick.

The Republicans are currently in the majority, politically. There’s is a red state that’s run by politicos who consider it to be a giant resource warehouse, which is one that holds an infinite amount of coal, gravel, oil, and natural gas. It’s sort of like a giant Costco, minus the eating area.

And the Democrats are currently in the minority, politically. Theirs is blue state. Their politicos don’t run it. Rather, they stand by hopelessly, and repeatedly watch the shit hit the fan. They are of the mind that things will change, that the pendulum will swing back to the left. In the meantime, they’re working on a grassroots level in attempt to bring about change on a social level. Hence, the focus on getting people to work in food banks and thrift stores. (Today, for example, people will be getting together and doing clothes sorting at the Turn a Leaf Thrift Store).

And, along these lines, the guest speaker was the Mat-Su Superintendent of Schools. According to her facts and figures, which she dispatched with aplomb and vigor, things are on the upswing in area schools. SAT scores are continuing to climb, and students are becoming increasingly more invested in getting good educations. This is because they have outstanding teachers.

All this got to me wondering – would things be different if the Democrats now had more political so say in terms of local, state, and federal governance? Say, for example, would I have seen more of the area political activists present at this meeting? Only one, Jamie Duhamel, who is now heading up the Castle Mountain Coalition, was in attendance. (She recently ran for political office, and had hoped to be elected State House Representative, but lost).

Maybe I should become a turncoat. Begin to dress and act like a Republican – get a bank loan and get a big truck. Put an ATV in the back of it. Get a silly little outfit. Get a different hairdresser, one who uses a lot of hairspray, and one of those chairs you dry your hair under. Find a church with like-minded citizens. Maybe take on a job as a public relations person for BP or Conoco Phillips. Move into an upscale subdivision. Echew being vegetarian. Sell all the horses except one, and board that horse at the Sindorf Center. Then, when I in some odd way blow my cover, write a book about this, and call it Republican Like Me. Dang, I feel better knowing that I have a plan.

Next: 20. 1/20/13: Trip Preparations: Saddle Fit