David Minge: “when I go home, especially over the last Christmas break, people ask me, well, how do you like being in Congress? Is it…”

“when I go home, especially over the last Christmas break, people ask me, well, how do you like being in Congress? Is it an honor? Is it fun? Are you going to receptions? What is it like to be in Washington? Often I respond by telling them a story about my Uncle Oly and Aunt Lena. I, like many in Minnesota, am of Norwegian ancestry. And Oly and Lena one morning were in the house and Oly got up, excused himself, went out to the outhouse, and did his business. As he pulled up his bib overalls, a couple quarters dropped out and went down the hole. Oly was disgusted. He took off his watch and he threw that down, and he took out his wallet and threw that down as well. He went back in the house and Lena said well, 'Oly, what is wrong with you? You are in such a foul mood and you don't smell so good either. What you been doing?' And finally it came out. Oly explained to her that he had lost the quarters and thrown his watch and wallet, and she said, 'Oly, why did you do that? Why can you go down there?' He said, 'Well, you didn't think I was going to go down after just 50 cents, did you?' Well, there may be some humor in what Uncle Oly did, but there is little humor in what we are about here in Washington.”