Not a loser

I drove into Winner yesterday afternoon to switch over my driver's license, car registration, and insurance. I'm a State Farm customer, so I stopped by the local agent's office. Come to find out, my new agent is also the mayor of Winner. His wife runs the front office.

The topic of Alaska came up; they had questions about traveling to the state. And they asked about Sarah. I always love speaking with people who are enthusiastic about Alaska. They both pulled out road atlases to locate the cities that came up in our conversation. Very cool.

So, I'm kind of a nerd. I took advantage of my conversation with the mayor, asking him about...

• economic development in town: Wal-Mart thought about coming in, but later passed; a small call center recently closed
• population growth: stagnant and projected to decrease through 2025; the kids leave after high school
• comparisons to local communities: Mitchell is doing well, with Cabela's recent opening; otherwise, rural South Dakota isn't doing so hot
  

After an hour-long chat (I was the only customer), I went to lunch and then back to Mission. Upon returning to the office, I mentioned how I had just met the mayor. Sandy asked, "Did you tell him you knew me?" I said I had mentioned where I'd be working but no specific names. Sandy then said, "It's a good thing he doesn't know you know me."

LaCosta and I couldn't tell if he was joking. Time will only tell if he was. At the very least, it serves as a possible harbinger of the small town politics I may have immersed myself in.