November 11
The next two days, the business of CCL. “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.” ~ Carl Sagan . . .
[At the Omni Shoreham, the 800 volunteers are greeted by CCL Executive Director, Mark Reynolds . . . ]
[When local chapters meet on a monthly basis, Mr. Reynolds hosts programs that each chapter joins by computer hook up . . . ]
[Then other members of CCL staff addressed the assembled masses . . . ]
[Possibly including Lady Gaga?]
[Brett Cease joined us at the regional CCL conference in Bemidji earlier this year . . . ]
[The Super enjoying lunch at the Omni . . . ]
[Selfie at the Omni . . . ]
[For the afternoon sessions, small groups assigned to individual congressmen and senators met to determine the roles of each member . . . ]
[The hardest part was to find your group because the individual meetings were held in “the lobby” . . . ]
[We broke away in mid-afternoon for a nosh and a beverage with the Howells at a restaurant across the street . . . ]
[Then back to the Omni for late afternoon programming . . . ]
[Jeanne and Ken found their meeting . . . ]
[And our last meeting with the group that would visit Congressman Collin Peterson’s office . . . ]
November 12
On our way to the first of four congressional meetings. The four of us from Alex were only all together for our last meeting at Congressman Peterson’s office . . .
[From the Capitol South metro stop, I’m on the way across the capitol grounds to the Senate office buildings on the north side of the capitol. I had the earliest meeting, with Senator Kevin Cramer (R), North Dakota, in the Russell Building. To do so, I passed by the Library of Congress . . . ]
[Then the Capitol . . . ]
[Then the DACA demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court . . . ]
[Then the United Methodist Building . . . ]
[Finally to the Senate Office Buildings . . . ]
[A CCLer admiring the art display in the . . . Hart Building. That’s right! I went to the wrong building, an accident consistent with my chronological age . . . ]
[I subsequently found the Senator Cramer’s office in the Russell Building. Photo, l-r: Glenn Rogers (Bedford, PA), Danielle Hess (Forest Hill, MD), Mindy Ahler (Edina), Micah Chambers (Cramer’s Legislative Director), Brett Cease (Duluth), Sharon Planer (Annandale), (Photographer: Tom Obert, Alexandria) . . . ]
[Then it was on to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s (D), Minnesota, office in the Dirksen Building . . . ]
[OK, this shot was from 13 years ago . . . ]
[Photo, l-r: Peter Jarka-Sellers (St.Paul), Bobbie Scott (St. Paul), Brian Werner (Klobuchar’s Senior Legislative Assistant), Kawai Washburn (Minneapolis), Sharon Planer (Annandale), Howard White (Northfield), (Photographer: Tom Obert, Alexandria)]
[Then back across to the House Office buildings, past the Supreme Court . . . ]
[OK, I thought she was a movie star, or something . . . ]
[Past the Capitol . . . ]
[To Congressman Tom Emmer’s (R), Minnesota, office in the Cannon Building. Photo, l-r: Lee Morgan (Annandale), Peter Jarka-Sellers (St. Paul), Sharon Planer (Annandale), Catherine Lenz (Emmer’s Legislative Assistant), Joseph Robertson (Minneapolis), Jeanne and Ken Howell (Alexandria), (Photographer: Tom Obert, Alexandria) . . . ]
[Then to Congressman Collin Peterson’s (D), Minnesota, office in the Rayburn Building.]
[The Super under the Congressman’s congressional district . . . ]
[With his seniority, he has a “room with a view” . . . ]
[Photo, l-r: Tom Obert (Alexandria), Jeanne and Ken Howell (Alexandria), Sharon Planer (Annandale), Howard White (Northfield), Ruth Obert (Alexandria), Zach Martin (Peterson’s Senior Legislative Assistant)]
[Home on the metro with, l-r: The Super, Jeanne, and Ken . . . ]
[Then up to the Vantage Point restaurant in our hotel for dinner. Good night!]
Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. ~ George Bernard Shaw
Up Next: D.C.?
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