Clearly, it’s been a dark time since Trump took office. But there was a momentary respite in the news cycle when we got to celebrate SNL’s 50th last month.
I have lots of memories from my 15 seasons working on the show (‘75-‘80 and ‘85-‘95). From Julia Child bleeding to death to Stuart Smalley affirming Michael Jordan, we had a lot of fun back then, didn’t we?
Well two of my other favorite moments were with my son, Joe Franken.
You might remember when I first declared the ‘80s would be known as the Al Franken Decade. You might also remember when I passed the torch to five-year-old-Joe and let him have the ‘90s — The Joe Franken Decade. Well, that lasted ten years and then I took it back from him. The 2000s are, of course, The Al Franken Millenium. It’s been an interesting first 25 years. And we still have 975 to go.
Well, isn’t that sweet? Joe and I have both grown up a bit. He’s actually a dad now too. His son, Jacob, is 9. And his daughter, Claire, is soon-to-be-6. They both love playing chess. And I must admit, they’ve both beaten me (and not just when I was letting them win). So I guess you could say that their dad, Joe, is doing something right.
When I think about the work we do here at Midwest Values PAC, I often find myself thinking about my grandchildren and their futures. There are so many issues we progressives have to keep fighting for.
Take climate change, for example. Fifty years from now, what do I say when Jacob and Claire ask me, “Grandpa, why didn’t you do anything to stop the Earth from overheating and the oceans from swallowing our shorelines? Also, how come you’re still alive?”
Well let’s not wait fifty years to do something. Supporting MVP today means supporting our futures. Thus ensuring the remaining 975 years of the Al Franken Millenium are 975 years our country can be proud of.
Al
P.S. I named my son, Joe, after my father. You may have heard me talk about how much my dad shaped my values. When raising Joe, I made sure to pass those down to him too.
