Harkin Steak Fry Day

It was Harkin Steak Fry Day today!

So this morning, we headed out to Indianola for the annual Steak Fry to drive golf carts for AFSCME and to get a local taste of Iowa - as well as see Sheryl Crow, Tom Arnold, and Elizabeth Edwards.

We made sure to get some bug spray and suntan lotion first, though. Don't want chiggers now. (read previous posts to find out what they are)

We got there and hopped into a golf cart, fastened my NY Yankees visor to the front and started to pick up folks from their cars to bring them to the event. After getting yelled at for having all three of us in a car, we started switching and alternating rides. So it was fun, got to meet some nice people. At one point, I had four 70-80 year olds in my cart, one next to me, two in the back, and one standing on the back, hanging on to the top. Hey, they wanted to ride that way. I made sure to go super slow, just in case.

So then we alternated jobs with more AFSCME members and went to assist this gentleman from the Steelworkers Union, Mark. He was the nicest guy I've met in a long time. A real person, you know? Fighting hard for his job, loving his family, his home, and had some great stories - and some raunchy jokes to tell. We were responsible for making sure that only hosts and buses parked in their respective area. So we were talking for a long time together, just hanging out.

There's a picture of Jess and Megan with Mark at the bottom of this post.

But the best pic I took all day was of Mark's tattoo that he proudly displayed for us:



So after our stint with Mark, we ended up going in to eat, it was close to showtime. So I had me a nice steak fry with beans and cole slaw. It was alright. It was a beautiful day, though. So we sat, enjoying the sun, listening to Senator Harkin and other politicians before Tom Arnold came on. He was great - and funny. The most memorable line was, "Look, I'm from Hollywood and I'm making good money and I want them to tax me more instead of giving it back to me - I'd be honored to have it go towards schooling and health care and social security."

You're my hero, Tom.

Then it was Sheryl Crow time. She is tiny. I mean teeny tiny. She's a stick. I could barely see her, but I could tell. As you can see from the first picture above, I wasn't exactly close to the stage, but it's very easy to tell she's tiny. She was great, had the crowd on it's feet and all of us singing along. She didn't play a two hour gig, but she played her popular, and we enjoyed it.

At this moment, we noticed a guy sitting down at the picnic table next to us. Very interesting. I say this because he was a medium-tall guy, not terribly skinny but not terribly fat, with shaggy hair, mutton chops, glasses, a short-sleeved button down, suspenders, shorts, and loafers with no socks. Apparently "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" isn't watched too often here. Megan and I were amused. I also saw an alarming number of mullets.

Then Elizabeth Edwards came on and we listened to her for a bit before being beckoned back to the golf carts. But they ended up having enough people, so we went back to the hotel. We were exhausted and have a big week ahead of us, so we wanted to get some rest while we could.

After getting lost on the way back, we finally made it, retired to our own rooms for a few hours before meeting up again for dinner and a drink (this is a theme, by the way, I'm sure I will be having a drink at least every night I'm here).

Then I taught Jess and Megan how to play poker. It was a lot of fun. We definitely will be doing that again soon.

Ah, but the heavy work begins tomorrow. Phew. At least we enjoyed our down time while we could. It's go time. So I'll try to be as good as I can, maybe it'll be like tonight where I do three at once, but I will update you. Be patient, We're trying to get Kerry elected here, we've got some priorities. I do hope you'll understand.

While you're at it, comment on the posts or click on the box to the left to sign the guest book so that I know who's been checking in with me. At the least, it'll make me feel loved. Not that your emails and best wishes don't...

But I can honestly tell you that it's very nice here in Iowa. The people are very friendly and nice. And the weather is beautiful and it's not flat as I thought it would be. I guess I should have paid more attention to the Dar Williams song repeating in my head about the "hills of Iowa." I'm not sure that I would enjoy it as much if I wasn't doing what I'm doing now, but it is a good slice of America. And I'm glad I'm here.