Rapp Strategies Rundown – March
What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: Unlike many of the critics, we are enjoying The Endgame because everything in the plot isn’t as obvious and seamlessly settled within 44 minutes as we often see on network crime dramas. Getting anxious for the final season of Better Call Saul, the new John Sandford book and the first pitch of the Twins season. Also need to call out Tullibee for a fine old fashioned and a great Brussels sprout app — get back on Twitter, TB!
Rich: March has been a month of Spring anticipation. In typical Minnesota form, the weather has teased us with beautiful warm days followed by some snow, sleet and colder temperatures. Our family is ready for true Spring weather in April. Kari got a new bike, mine is tuned up, I’ve been hitting golf balls at the simulator and we have been planning for warm weather trips.
We continue to make improvements to our house by installing solar panels, planning to refurnish the living room and reconstructing our outdoor patio. I’ve also been reading Midnight in Washington by Congressman Adam Schiff. It is a fascinating look at the past few years by a true insider. It certainly reinforces the truism that maintaining democracy requires brave citizens willing to sacrifice and work hard to protect our liberties, our Republic and our way of life.
Todd S.: My wife and I spent most of the past month juggling schedules as the Minneapolis Public Schools teachers’ strike played out. Our two sons were thrilled with the extra time off, and we were able to make it work. We appreciate the teachers’ commitment and hope for better days ahead for our schools and communities. In the meantime, still wondering if I should catch the new Batman movie in the theater or wait until it’s streaming.
Sarah: We spent the start of the month in Portugal and Spain, taking in the sights and incredible food and wine of the Iberian peninsula. Flight movies included King Richard, House of Gucci and Cruella. I picked up a few sourdough starters after we got home and have been working through The Sourdough School and Tartine Bread. I also started Plant Grow Harvest Repeat from local author Meg McAndrews Cowden in preparation for the gardening season. Seedlings are started and now I just wait for the weather to warm up!
Sean: Settling into the new role at Rapp Strategies and transitioning away from the “campaign life” has been a welcome change from both a personal and professional perspective this month. It’s allowed me to devote a bit more of my time and attention on the home front.
Any free time my fiancé and I have had in March has been spent preparing for our wedding, which is coming up at the end of May. Nights at the Oyaas/Griffiths household consist of long walks with the dog, a bit of yoga, an overwhelming amount of envelope stuffing, and a healthy amount of arguing over which song we’ll have for our “first dance”.
Aside from wedding planning, I have spent a good chunk of my time supporting “Futsal Society”, a Minneapolis based non-profit whose mission it is to provide free soccer training, practices, and league play for youth across the state. We’ve been hard at work through March gearing up for their first annual fundraiser.
Anna: I visited my grandparents in Florida, where the sun was bright, the food rich and the company superb. A highlight was making a delicious tres leches cake from scratch with my grandpa. I devoured the novel Becoming Mrs. Lewis, which tells the tragic and brilliant story of Joy Davidman, an American prodigy who bonded with C.S. Lewis through letters they exchanged and eventually became his wife. Isaac and I also attended a popular local event – the rattlesnake rodeo. The snake race was rather anti-climactic (who knew rattlesnakes slithered so slowly?) but the rodeo charmed us nevertheless, and we even sampled fried rattlesnake.
Cullen: Like much of the country I was locked into March Madness – until of course Arizona, Gonzaga and Texas Tech all went down in the same day. Thankfully the sting was lessened by Saint Peter’s legendary Cinderella run, and the Wild’s supremacy in overtimes. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m also already deep into research for my fantasy football dynasty league’s first rookie draft.
Sports aside, I had a great time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day (outside!) and my girlfriend’s birthday. I also visited the Minneapolis Institute of Art to catch Mauricia Lasansky’s The Nazi Drawings, and saw The Batman on opening weekend – both highly recommended.
Kaylee: I grew up with parents who almost always take care of car maintenance and repairs themselves, so I try to soak up as much knowledge from them as I can. This month's big feat was learning how to change the spark plugs on my car without breaking them. And, at the risk of making some enemies with this next statement, I also successfully avoided March Madness by plowing through all six seasons of Downton Abbey.
Will: It was a very busy month of March! I’ve been watching The Sopranos, only about 20 years late to the party. Very excellent. I finished Black Like Me and the second volume of Maus this month, two fascinating, complicated books worth reading. I’m now reading Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries, which is interesting but has yet to grow on me. As always, I’m reading plenty of The New Yorker.
I celebrated my birthday in March with a trip to St. John’s and some marble cake. My girlfriend, Kate, gave me a hat from my favorite newspaper, as well as a mug with a thoughtful note on it and some Southern Gothic literature. Now I just need to finish the rest of my “to-read” stack…
