Chapter 57 2014
The two Minnesota senators’ offices each replied with similar sympathetic responses. They did not have the authority to intervene in an Ice matter or to overturn an extradition. Both complimented me on my performance at the Olympics and suggested I talk to the governor.
The governor did not respond.
I tried a dozen times over the course of a week—four phone calls, six emails, and two letters. Finally, my mind on fire, I took a taxi to his home to make my appeal in person.
The governor’s mansion is located in a posh part of Saint Paul. It is a grand two-story brick-and-limestone Tudor-style building encircled by a wrought iron fence.
When I rang the intercom, I was told to make an appointment. When I explained that no one had replied to my requests, the woman said the governor was a busy man and could not speak to every constituent.
Unsure what to do next, my brain full of cobwebs and not working properly, I walked to the end of the street, and when I reached the intersection, I turned and walked back. When I reached the opposite street, I turned and did it again.
And I just kept doing it.
For twenty-three days.