THIS is funny...

So, an old friend of the "Bund" called me last night... for the sake of anonymity, we'll simply call him "Richter" and forgo the first name... to fill me in on the lastest in his life.

We talked for about 30 minutes, and maybe 15 of it was catch-up and fill-in. Then he asked the "Pandora's box" question: "Who are you supporting in the election?"

*sigh*

For those of you that don't know... this guy is as liberal as they come. He served as a medic in the Navy, and then got into the casino business with us right after. He married a wonderful woman from MN (also a screaming liberal DFL supporter), and the have a whole crop of kids to raise. since I have known them, they have seen their house burn to the ground, flood twice, and be eaten whole by a plague of termites (I'm not usually squeamish about bugs, but when you are cutting drywall to help out a friend, and several hundred thousand little flying ants come pouring out of the hole... you get squeamish fast). So, needless to say that no matter how kind-hearted and friendly this guy is, F. Ryan never had any real fondness for the man.

I did, though... still do, in fact. He'd give you the shirt off his back (literally) if he thought you needed it. He is as honest as they come, and his naivety is as genuine as it is frustrating. We had some damn fun times over the last 15 years, and some of our little "episodes" still resonate among the Bund membership. The "Croc Dollar", for example... which Richter still holds proudly.

Anyway... since Katrina, the guy has been in the dessert surrounding Laughlin NV, working for our old Company (Harrah's)... and has been shit-miserable nearly the whole time. He now has an opportunity to move to a new place with a VERY nice job for both him and his wife at a brand-new casino, and he is jumping at the chance.

So, back to my story...

"Who are you supporting in the election?" he asks.

"McCain." I respond.

There goes the conversation. I am instantly bombarded with all the reasons voting for ANOTHER Republican is not acceptable (he knows I voted for Bush in '04). I calmly begin to point out that nothing I have seen from either Hillary or Obama gives me any hope of a better tomorrow from their agendas... but (and this is difficult to appreciate until you know Richter) the conversation degenerates rapidly, so much so that I begin to feel the same level of frustration at Richter's rabid defense of everything Democrat that I feel when Ryan is so rabidly defending GOP policy. In fact, the frustration is SO similar that I begin to call Richter "RYAN" in my rebuttals to his arguments.

I don't even realize this is happening until he calmly and quietly says...

"Look, man... you don't have to get so insulting! Please stop calling me RYAN!"

Damn, did I laugh... it was almost an instictive response... I get frustrated while discussing politics with an obstinent opponent, and I call them RYAN.

Anyway... he says HI to all here, and misses the "debates" we had at work or on break (and even he admits that they tended to be one sided). Just thought I'd pass that on...