If You're from Utah, You Must be a Republican

Another story from our Alaskan adventure.  When we arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska, we met an entrepreneur named Otto.  Otto is the owner of Alaska Smart Rentals, which quoted us the least expensive car on the island.  Granted, the car was a bit older and not exactly pristine, but that was exactly what we wanted.  It was great not to have to care about getting mud and or/fish guts in the rental car.

I digress.  This story is about Otto.  After Otto picked us up and brought us the Ford Explorer that would take us pretty much throughout Revillagigedo Island, we headed downtown to find a place for breakfast.  We chanced upon the Pioneer Café, where we sat at the counter and ordered up a hearty breakfast.  No sooner did our food arrive when Otto showed up and sat at the counter next to me.

We started chatting.  When we told him we were from Utah, he asked if we were Mormon.  No, we told him.  We’re not.  He assured us that he’d met a few Mormons and that he liked them, but that he was a Lutheran.

“But Utah is a Republican state, right?” 

“Yep,” my husband told him.  “My vote hasn’t counted in years.”

Otto then launched into a tirade that only a true Trump believer could have recited with a straight face.  He had donated $50 to Trump’s campaign.  Comey was a leaker.  Hillary should be in jail.  Russia didn’t have anything to do with Trump’s election.  It was all a witch hunt.  While we thought we’d made clear our true political leaning when we could get a word in edgewise, our statements went right over his head.  He was certain we were agreeing with him.  He ended the conversation by patting my husband on the back and telling him how delighted he was to be able to visit with fellow Republicans.

We’re still shaking our heads.  He believed us when we said we weren’t Mormons, but apparently everyone in Utah is a Republican.  That’s his story, and he’s probably still in Alaska sticking to it.