Friday Donuts

Dear members and constituents, As I prepare for my final day in the office before my twelve day trip to Ecuador, I am reminded donuts are hard to come-about in my home country. It’s bad enough that I have to miss the fire works, but to also deprive my taste buds of the sweet deep-fried taste of donuts seems too hard to bear. Might I take a dozen with me –one for every day of my trip? Sure they'll still be fresh when I get there tomorrow morning, but how long can they hold? Would I need to put any jelly or cream-filled donuts in a Ziploc bag –to comply with the 3-1-1 rule? Might I get in trouble from luggage-sniffing dogs –after all, they are POLICE dogs? Fortunately, my flight doesn't leave till midnight, so the decision can wait and there are plenty of Winchell’s donuts at my desk (courtesy of Eric Jochens, donut boy), so I don’t have to think on an empty stomach. On this fourth of July eve, come enjoy one of the fringe benefits of being in America. Happy Friday! P.S. A couple...

Dear Members and Constituents, What a week. I’ve been to Ecuador, tested the limits of how little sleep I can have and still be operational and managed to get back in time for Donut Friday (okay, okay so I’m defining my timeliness loosely –it is, after all, 8:23- but I’m here!). My, how time flies when you’re trying to break a new record on how thinly you can spread yourself. Today marks the debut in the Friday Donut Club of another person notorious for allowing little time for very long trips. Suffice it to say she recently traveled to South Africa to watch a cricket match. I’m talking about Sneha, who delights us today with a delectable selection of delicious LaMar’s donuts. Come and get them before they all fly away. Happy Friday!

Dear Members and Constituents, In our casual conversations, many of you have asked to hear about my pilgrimage to Ecuador. I must admit I have found this line of questioning particularly hard to address. How do you characterize a month-long trip within the confines of a short hallway conversation? Invariably, my answers have been a combination of a pause (drawing a blank for something clever to say) followed by some comment that falls short of doing the trip justice. Given these circumstances, a top-ten list seems like a suitable mechanism to give you a taste (à la David Letterman)... From our home box office in Cuenca, Ecuador, here are the top ten highlights of my trip 10. Family . With 31 of my paternal Grandfather's 55 living descendants (not counting their spouses, or my wife's family) residing in my hometown, the list of relatives to visit was extensive to say the least. 9. Friends . Four high-school buddies in particular. You'd think 24 years later they would have ma...