I Made An Appearance

I took my printed blog post from yesterday and went on a hunt for Senator Kelly's office.  I was a woman on a mission.

Senator Flake's fairly spartan Tucson office was down the street from the (infamous) Safeway, an easy, quick stop on the way to most of the places I go.  It had a large parking lot and a plaza where voters could gather, waiting as we were allowed in, by twos and threes, to wonder about the Senator's disturbing ideas on gun safety.  

Senator McCain's office was embedded in the cluster of public buildings at the western entrance to downtown.  Around a concrete amphitheater of concrete steps were the offices of the DOJ, the Federal courtrooms, and a first floor glass door opening onto the Senator's waiting room, replete with comfy chairs beneath awards and photos and memories of a remarkable life.  

JannyLou and I were regular visitors.  Until COVID separated us from the outside world, we'd drop by after Pilates, or on our way to lunch.  Our comments covered a broad range of topics, which we wrote down and passed through the slot beneath the bullet proof glass to Senator Flake's receptionist or handed across the desk with the fresh flowers to the smiling assistant who came out from the back to listen to us.

Senator Kelly's office is downtown.  After years of construction mayhem, driving downtown on Stone from midtown was delightful.  Unlike most of Tucson, the road was paved and well marked, the street signs were facing the right way, and they were large enough to be readable from a moving vehicle.

I found a place to parallel park right across the street from David Black's 1991 sculpture, Sonora, which sits in front of what is now the Joel Valdez Main Library building.

Library of Congress photo

After a small amount of confusion concerning north and west, I found my way to the Pioneer Hotel building, 50' from my car.  There was a sleepy security guard watching tv behind his desk, and some traffic in and out of the bistro and the coffee shop anchoring opposing corners of the lobby, and a directory hidden away behind the elevator.  

I'm a hiker.  I always check the map when it comes to an intersection.  Before I went upstairs, I wanted to be sure that the office was really there.  

It was, up on the 6th floor at the end of the hall, on the odd side of the hallway next to Suite 609 - although the plate on the door said Suite 600.  I rang the only button that looked inviting, stated my name and my business, waited while interesting noises came through the intercom and then I was told that the door was unlocked and I should come in.

The lovely lady was seated behind a bulletproof panel, and she had the familiar slot at the bottom through which I could pass the print out.  I wanted to tell it to her, and she let me, then she told me that the Senator had just tweeted that he would not support the Continuing Resolution.

It kinda took the wind out of my sails.  I'm not used to getting what I want from my elected representative.  

And then there is the whole Elon Musk/Twitter/X thing that I haven't opened since the bat shit crazy man bought it.  I thanked her for telling me as I bemoaned the fact that my fast source of news had been co-opted by someone I just cannot support.  She was glad to help and smiled when I said that I hoped to visit on a regular basis.  

I did my part.  He's doing his part.  In this little corner of the world, democracy is working pretty well.