Weekend Parting Shot: Reality Check

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

I pray this missive finds you well. 

Autumn is finally threatening to show up in the Beehive State, which gives me one weekend to get all my honey-dos completed. Surveying my workbench, a few thoughts came to mind: 

• Why is it that whenever I need a Phillips-head screwdriver, all I can find are flat-heads? And vice versa.
• How come whenever I am looking for a tape measure, I can’t find one, but whenever I am looking for anything else, I find three of them?  

I know it is up to a man to keep a well-ordered workbench, but I have to ask: does this ever happen to anyone else?

Actions, consequences, blah, blah, blah.

In April of last year, Democratic Minnesota State Senator Nicole Mitchell was busted by the Detroit Lakes PD for breaking into her stepmother’s home. When the cops arrested her, she was prowling around her stepmother’s basement, dressed in black and carrying a flashlight. Apparently, she Googled “what to wear during a burglary” before her caper, or she has just seen one too many Pink Panther movies. Ostensibly, she was there to get her late father’s ashes and some of his belongings, which she claimed his wife would not give her. She told the police, “Clearly, I’m not good at this. I know I did something bad.” 

During her trial, she said she was not looking for her father’s remains or his belongings; she was there to check on the well-being of the stepmother. Naturally, everyone who is conducting a welfare check sneaks into the house in the middle of the night, dressed up like a cat burglar with a black sock over a flashlight. That’s the way they do it in your state, right?

In the end, Mitchell was convicted and given five years of supervised probation and a 180-day work release. She has to spend six months in the local hoosegow but is allowed out to work at her new job at Dunkin’ Donuts.

INBOX: Former Sen. Nicole Mitchell (D), sentenced to six months in jail for first-degree burglary, has now been seen on work release at Dunkin’ Donuts. pic.twitter.com/pqpyt1CUiX

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) September 25, 2025

Let me be perfectly clear: There is nothing wrong with anyone working at Dunkin’ Donuts. Any honest work is honorable work. Unlike breaking into your stepmother’s house. If anything, here is a cautionary tale about believing that because you are a legislator in your state’s party of choice, you cannot do whatever you want. Like commit crimes.

Is Dunkin’ Donuts coffee even good? Someone please enlighten me. 

Wine Recommendation

Because who needs coffee when you have vino?

This week, I selected an offering from Portugal, specifically the Casal Garcia Vinho Verde. 

For what some would consider a bargain wine (I coughed up $11), this was not a bad little bottle. Even though Utah is headed toward fall, we are still enjoying temps in the 80s, making this a nice early evening treat. 

The name is translated as “green wine.” No, the wine is not green, but it is a light, refreshing, zingy drink. Again, for sophisticated oenophiles, it may be better to turn your glasses elsewhere, but for someone who is looking for a little lemon, lime, green apple, some cut grass, and just a tiny bit of sweetness, this will provide you with a decent return on a small investment. It would go well with a vegetarian dish, and ours worked out nicely with some salmon and crackers.

That’s it for me. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next time. 

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