Day 36: Last 'real' deadline day

I hit the office around a quarter to nine today and slipped in my feature story for editing. Then I got to work reworking some of my UpFront, and finished off a couple of smaller stories to fill up the front of the Indy. All told I put in about 4,500 words this week with four stories and some truly great photos from Chad Harder to accompany them.

Then I set about throwing around shits and giggles with Harper, that other ink slinger you've been reading from week to week. At first I felt just completely stressed this morning, the world just seemed like a big bowl of bad. I didn't want to take that first step into the office and finish off the paper.

Then I did...and it was just over.

I think it's human nature to feel like you're going to go out in a bigger way than you really do. But unfortunately only James Dean gets to go out big, and maybe Kurt Cobain, the rest of us just sort go away.

But I didn't feel bad about this. I thought of the cover of the Independent sitting out there with my name on the cover – which has a damn fine picture on it – and that made me feel good. I get to leave with that as my crescendo, which makes it kind of fun.

Anyway, enough about that since I've still got one more actual day...

I was thinking a lot today about Rehberg's all too hilarious joke that was about as funny as a bag of cats in a river. I mean that. And here's why: because public figures have a higher standard to follow than the rest of us. That's why someone can get drunk downtown, make an ass out of themselves, and few ever care. But when Britney does it the world flips and can't shut up about it. Like Britney, Rehberg has to be scrutinized harsher, thus his attempt at humor gets a more jaded eye than most others – especially when you look at his voting record. I mean, jeesh, did a gay person steal his lunchbox as a kid?

And you know the best part of Rehberg's anti-gay rhetoric? Okay, he makes a passing joke about Sen. Larry Craig, right? And this after being so anti-gay...like a certain Sen. Larry Craig. See where I'm going with this?

Don't make fun of an anti-gay (allegedly) gay senator, when you're voting record matches up. It gets this guy's wheels turning about how wide of a stance a Billings "rancher" may have...

Of course that's pure hyperbole and humor, but you get my point? It's not funny to both vote against gay people, and also mock them. Didn't he do that enough already?