I’m sitting in the back of a large auditorium, waiting for the evening plenary session of Take Back America to get going. Off towards the center a bunch of the cool bloggers are gathered together. There is music playing over the loudspeakers, but for some reason, Joni Mitchell’s ‘The Last Time I Saw Richard Lyrics’ is playing in my mind.

I’m gonna blow this damn candle out
I don’t want nobody comin’ over to my table
I got nothing to talk to anybody about

The session begins: “We have an opportunity to have a real conversation with some of the exciting new Senators.” I wonder what sort of conversation it will really be.

My mind wanders back to the youth session this afternoon. How different the evening session is from that session. Here, we have lots of people talking about “exciting”… “Issues of vital interest”... and I think of Elandria talking about what is exciting and of vital interest to the people she works with. Being able to get enough food, get a basic education, find housing that isn’t on a waste dump.

And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe

Sen Klobuchar jokes about raising $15,000 from ex-boyfriends. How many of Elandria’s friends would love to have ex-boyfriends with that sort of disposable cash.

My mind wanders to Faith. She is home now.

It was kind of a system shock to me emotionally when the term "special needs child" was used during our discharge planning. It was also a shock (all though I guess I knew it the whole time) that when we went home she wasnt going to be "all better" like you think of when you get out of the hospital.

Sen. Sanders talks about those who can contribute $10 or $20 because their money is as important as anyone’s money. He goes on to talk about the middle class shrinking.

“Now it seems to me, that if we are going to be successful, we need a straight forward progressive agenda.”

Yeah, Sen. Sanders is talking about moral perspectives and saying all the right things, but somehow I’m not excited.

Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying

“…something profoundly wrong in our country…”

Now, Senator Brown is speaking and he’s talking about being optimistic, looking at various progressive eras.

All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin’ behind bottles in dark cafes
Dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings
And fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days

I think I’ll leave early and get some sleep. Maybe I’ll be more excited tomorrow.

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