In Which I Cause a Capital City Scandal

Another half-day at the State House for some partisan, majority party activity: a presentation by a pollster on the advantages and challenges facing our party, an agenda-setting session, lunch.

I couldn't stay for the full menu of activities. My office was hosting its third and final Fall Preview of courses, and I needed to be there with my camera and the rest of me. So I left the Legislative Office Building right after the lunch.

It's about ten minutes from the Capital to the college, depending on how the traffic lights play out. At a major intersection where I was turning left at the light, I spotted a familiar car on the other side of the intersection, about to turn right.

The car lives in my garage. The driver was my spouse.

We ended up in parallel lanes, heading in the same direction. I tapped my horn several times as I navigated my way beside him, then waved and smiled. We proceeded to the next big intersection, on the other side of the interstate overpass.

We had to stop for a red light. There was lots of traffic, but we were still in view of each other.

My destination was just over the hill. He was turning left, taking his favourite short cut to his office.

Succumbing to impulse, I lowered my window and stuck out my head and started blowing kisses at him. A lot of kisses. Repeatedly.

The light changed. We both drove continued in our respective directions.

I came to a place where two lanes merged and glanced in my rearview mirror to check whether the car behind was about to squeeze in ahead of me.

Its occupants were laughing. Probably at me--at the spectacle they'd just witnessed. I'm guessing lots of other drivers noticed, too.

That's when I remembered that my car has special House member licence plates, imprinted with my seat number in Representatives Hall. I have no anonymity.

I'm not exactly expecting to see the headline State Rep Spotted Blowing Kisses at Motorists in the morning paper. Those Capital Beat reporters work their territory quite diligently but it's unlikely they were hanging out on Manchester Street this afternoon, on the off chance that a passing office-holder would make a spectacle of herself.

We had very good attendance at the Fall Preview for the upcoming semester. There was loads to do afterwards, so I stayed at the office till 6:00. When I got home, the Chap had everything ready for me to make green chile chicken burritos. Which were fantastic, if I do say so myself.