Allen Powell, the owner of Wolfies, knows me from my not infrequent visits there for a barbecue and a beer. I was in there recently and he and his wife were there. We were gigging each other, and I observed that I had never seen a Democratic candidate sign on his property.

He said that if I wanted to, I could put up one 'Collins for Delegate' sign that was no more than 3x4'. He also said that if I won the primary he was going to host a victory party for me at his expense .

He scoffed at some parts of my palm card points, but said that in spite of my heresies, I was one of his favorite liberals. Jokingly, he has suggested that it's a plot to put me in office so that the 57th would no longer be a safe Democratic District.

Allen has a reputation for being a spontaneous, generous public-spirited, individual and has contributed much to the needy and the unfortunate. Maybe he places me in the needy and unfortunate category. More likely, he's just a conservative Republican who enjoys the back and forth that goes with our beers and the gesture just erupted from the foam on the top of his beer mug.

Rich Collins (electronic mail, May 29, 2005)

Note: Collins adds (personal conversation, June 9, 2005) that his victory party on Tuesday evening following the Democratic primary will be at Wolfie's - with support from Allen Powell.