Ryan loves politics and government. Any opportunity I can provide to him regarding these subjects, I try to do it or create it. I reached out to our local state senator’s office at the end of November last year to try and set up a meeting/interview with Senator Kelly Hancock, who represents us in the Texas State Senate. Well between the Senator traveling back and forth to the Capitol in Austin and the holidays, and us having to reschedule once in January because of the flu, we finally had the chance to sit down to meet Senator Hancock.
It was a very rainy morning, but Ryan, Freckles, and I met with Susan Young, Senator Hancock’s District Director, and the Senator at his North Richland Hills Office.
They sat with us for 30 minutes as Ryan had prepared the following questions for the Senator:
1. REALLY WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING A TEXAS STATE SENATOR.
2. UNDERSTAND I AM INTERESTED IN WHAT A TYPICAL DAY IS LIKE FOR YOU.
3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR JOB?
4. CALLING IT, CARING TO KNOW THE WORST PART ABOUT YOUR JOB.
5. REALLY WISHING TO FIND OUT YOUR IDEAS FOR IMPROVING THE TEXAS STATE SENATE.
6. HOW MANY STATE SENATORS ARE THERE?
7. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RUN FOR STATE GOVERNMENT?
8. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT WHAT THE STATE SENATE IS AND WHAT IT DOES?
9. REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AS A STATE SENATOR.
10. HOW IS TEXAS HELPING OUT AUTISTICS?
11. DO YOU FEEL TREATMENT OF AUTISTICS IS A DEARLY IMPORTANT ISSUE?
12. CARING TO TELL HIM THAT I AM A CONSERVATIVE TOO.
Once we got home, I sat down with Ryan to talk about his experience.
I REALLY LOVED IT. SENATOR HANCOCK LOVES HIS CONSTITUENTS. YOU CAN TELL WHEN YOU MEET HIM. HARD TO THINK IT IS SUCH LOW PAY BUT SUCH AN IMPORTANT JOB. (Senator Hancock mentioned that he does this in addition to running his own company as well.)
“Do you remember how many people he said that he represents?”
YES. 860,000.
“Good memory! Anything else that you want to add about the visit?”
I THINK IT IS AMAZING THAT THE GOVERNOR REALLY ASKED HIM TO RUN.
“Do you remember which governor it was that asked him?”
YES. PERRY.
“Do you know Governor Perry’s job now?”
SECRETARY OF ENERGY.
“Yes! I didn’t think that you knew that. How do you know that?”
WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME IF I SAID BECAUSE TOO LOVING POLITICS?
“I would Ryan. Anything else to add?”
HE IS WELL DRESSED. WILLING TO THINK I CAN LET HIM KNOW IMPORTANT ISSUES LIKE HE SAID. CARING TO THANK HIM FOR HIS TIME.
“We can do that. I am curious if you remember what he said his top two issues are.”
HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION.
“Man, you really did listen to everything he said.”
REALLY THINK DEARLY HE IS THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB. MOM, CAN WE DO MORE POLITICS LESSONS?
“Yes. Of course. We can also talk to your Uncle Doug (he works for a Senator in Washington) and I want to take you on a tour of our State Capitol in Austin. Most 4th graders do that in the public school system, but even though you are older, I don’t want you to miss out on the opportunity.”
HAPPY TO DO IT.
If you have any suggestions on government or politics related lessons or field trips or interviews, please send them our way!
Happy Easter and Happy Passover! We wish you a wonderful holiday weekend!
***On another note, Ryan is still training for the Mayor’s 5K next weekend. Today we ran the 2nd training of 3 for week 4 of C25K (Couch to 5K training app) and Ryan ran all of the allotted time! This was a total of 16 minutes of running (alternating jogging and walking according to the app). We will not complete the entire training before the actual 5K next week, but we are going to do our best during the race. I am extremely proud of Ryan and his commitment to this.***
I am in my head. 
Ryan, it was great visiting with you! Thanks for stopping by. I love your blog. But, I must confess that my wife picks out all of my clothes. I just wear what she says is okay.
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