This is an excerpt from
Portland City Council Commissioner Sam Adams' blog, for some reason I found it funny:
It's ten thirty in the morning. I've got on my Norton motorcylcle black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a baseball hat and my iPod Shuffle around my neck. It's Sunday and I'm mowing my front yard.
I'm just getting to the edging when a truck pulls up. The window rolls down, and the man at the wheel flags me out into the street. I pause the music.
"When you're done here, would you mind doing my yard?"
I'm a little stunned. He gets out of his truck, walks me over to the corner, points across Kenton Park to a house with a 'For Sale' sign.
"That's my yard right there." He asks if I'll mow it. He's speaking loudly, and enthusiastically. I realize he's not joking. He says he'll pay me $30. "Sure," I say.
[...]
"You did such a good job, I'd like to hire you again in a few weeks. What's your name?"
"Sam," I say. He pays me $30--cash--and I leave my home number.
Some of the comments on this entry are other Portland residents asking if he's available to mow their lawns, heh.
I remember before the election in November there were a bunch of supporters of Sam Adams out on the street near the freeway entrance holding up signs. It was raining and cool, even for November, and I recall thinking I was glad not to be them. Then I noticed the very last guy in the row had a sign above his head that said simply "I'm Sam". While passing, we exchanged waves.
I look forward to a future in which more of our elected officials recognize the power of blogs to directly talk with and listen to their constituents, and in which we as voters place a premium on the availability of this interaction.
