Odd Things To Do

Tomorrow after I mosey down to the radio station for my "Mayoral Midweek" show, I'll venture over to XXX's to do her therapy and then I am actually free until 2:30pm. I like those days where I have a bit of freedom!

At 2:30pm, the local outlet of the state prison system is having their tenth anniversary and awards ceremony. I must be important since I got invited. I had assumed the other council members were invited, but it seems that only I got invited. Maybe it is because I am the one who has spoken at several graduations. Maybe it is because I am the one most likely to come for a long stay. {*grin*} Or maybe I am the only one that passed the vetting to get in past the gates. In any case it will be fun and I am hoping for good food.

Why good food? Well this particular branch of the prison system has a culinary institute training program as one of the rehab programs to ensure that inmates have viable skills when they are released. The program caters for many events in the community and will cook to order for non-profits. Thus some local churches sell cabbage pockets and other goodies to their flock that are made by the prisoners as a fund raiser. In any case, every time I have been out there, be it for a meeting, a graduation, to tour a program, or for education on gangs, there has been good food at hand. It is really interesting when you attend a graduation because one of the standards is that they have cake for the inmate/graduates following the ceremony. Outsiders go first, then the inmates. Given the treat free diet of the inmates, cake is such a rarity that the prisoners are on their absolute best behavior in hopes of getting a second piece. They are often more excited than a class of second graders by the thought of cake with {*gasp*} icing. Some of them will stare with anticipation and longing at their cake, eating it in tiny bits just to prolong the pleasure. Think about how sad it is to have a life so drear that even a piece of cake is a cause for tears.

In other odd news of the day, I now know when the Super WalMart here will be finished remodeling. I got a call asking me to speak at the Grand Re-Opening at 8am on July 1st. That should be interesting just to see the crowds waiting to rush in the doors. It's a good thing that they having it early in the morning since I had already committed to speaking to the Rotarians at noon.

It poured rain during the city council meeting tonight, culminating in a tornado warning. Since city hall is next to the fire station, we got to see all the spotters on the fire trucks heading out to be on station to watch for tornadoes. I suspect they didn't see much since the tornado was 15 miles down the road and moving away from us. Since we were basically through with the meeting when the skies opened and poured, we didn't adjourn and instead went through all the misc. business we could dredge up. That at least let us wait until we could see across the sidewalk before exiting council chambers. This is shaping up to be one of the wettest Junes on record here. Nothing like the shifting weather patterns from global warming to make life interesting.

Time to get some work done and then get to bed. That 6am rise and shine for the radio show can come awfully early.