Thirsty sidebar
February 19, 2008 | 08:56 AM
Kim Trynacity
All afternoon, between screening video footage of campaign stops I was reaching for bottles of water, or searching for another water cooler to fill it up. What was it, I wondered. An insatiable thirst for democracy? A parched penchant for politics?
It didn't take me long to get to the bottom of my condition. I think it was bigos.
I went to Ed Stelmach's campaign stop at Thomas (Landslide) Lukaszuk's HQ in Edmonton-Castle Downs. For the first time, it felt like a real campaign:
- A BBQ grill filled with Polish sausage and hot dogs.
- A woman with a blond beehive walking around with a tray of "dainties" (that Prairie treat of cake and pastries).
- A big guy stirring the bigos with a wooden paddle.
Bigos is a greasy sauerkraut concoction with big hunks of Polish sausage, mushrooms and "stuff.”
Usually I make it a point to take a pass on all the local campaign food, but this time I made an exception. After all, how can I tell you about it unless I taste it.
"You on a diet?" asked the big guy stirring the pot. I obligingly took half a serving of the smelly stew and proceeded to scarf it down.
I have to admit, it was GOOD! The little blond reporter from Global asked "Ooh, what is it?"
I told her: "Low fat." More like "fat chance."
Anyway, the message here is sometimes you can have fun at a campaign office, even if it leaves you with a lot of thirst — and a wee bit of heartburn.
P.S. Thanks for ALL the great questions for the leaders’ debate. There will be time for seven or eight questions all night, so I’m looking at all your suggestions for ideas.
P.S.S. I bumped into Brent Rathgeber, former Tory MLA and now federal candidate. He said he wasn't surprised by the court ruling striking down the government’s $4,000 soft tissue injury insurance cap. Said it's what he warned would happen years ago.
