“I think the fatal flaw of a lot of people in politics is that they want to be loved.” —Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina

Then there is Gov. Pawlenty, the emperor, or pending presidential candidate in the next or the next after that presidential election. He probably believes he will be called upon to be the next “decider” for his party now that the previous decider has completed his duty. I think he has moved into his new place in Texas and somewhat abandoned his farm chores and bike rides.

But wouldn’t that be something to have the new decider, a former Minnesota governor, leading the country.

As for our present president, according to Julie Pace of the Associated Press, he told graduates at Notre Dame regarding birth control concerns, “that both sides must stop demonizing one another.”

That’s something the last “decider” failed to suggest in his reign of duty.

According to Julie Pace, Obama said, “No matter how much we want to fudge it … the fact is that on some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.” And he did not suggest the debate on abortion “can or should” go away.

As I am writing this I hear the voices of young children from Sumner School hooting and hollering in not a disturbing way, but an exciting way. Then 50 of them cross the busy street assisted by, I suspect, a couple or a few teachers heading for the Spam Museum I think and what diversity. A joy to see these children mixing together and enjoying one another, certainly a different picture from when this old guy was attending Banfield School or even when I was teaching there 13 years later.

Earlier I made my usual walk in the direction of downtown to see what’s happening in the neighborhoods. This morning I noticed that the new American Red Cross parking lot, freshly cemented not so long ago, was being taken out. Maybe it was an exercise of some sort.

I stopped by the Good Earth Natural Foods for a short visit with Caron Jagodzinski to get her thoughts on the “reconstruction” of downtown, and she shared a price quoted on her brick alley wall that was $48,000.

Caron continued to talk about the costs of shoring up downtown.

She asked, “Wouldn’t it have been nice to maybe sell the brick for a dollar a piece when they tore down the one building there on Main Street? It could have raised money for something, and I would have been interested in buying one; a historic piece of Austin.”

We also talked about the ever-pending new jail as well as the current jail. I said I didn’t think they should have television available in the jail. I suspect the new jail will offer new television sets with the up-to-date means of operating at a significant cost.

Caron thought it would be a good place to have AA meetings instead. Or offer counseling of some sort. This I don’t think would be a big problem at the new jail. “Nothingness is the truth underlying all understanding.”

Caron didn’t say that and neither did I. I do know Anais Nin said, “We write to taste life twice.” That makes sense.

Our boys are home for the summer, and Lydia stopped by. One is on a job search, and the other has work lined up. These probably aren’t the best of times too for job searching. My friend Dugger out in Riverside always used to say: “Hard times in America.” Then we laughed, however now we are in hard times, and its tentacles are reaching out all over. I think Austin is fortunate to have Hormel here and its supply of labor.

A friend, Betty Benner, and I have had been tutoring students in Vennie White’s writing class the last few years, and it has brought great joy and new understandings of people from other places in the world while becoming acquainted with their countries as well as their unique ways. Vennie’s room has books of writing and poetry from many countries that’s fun for us to look at, but not as nice as actually hearing the voices of students from their homes.