I bought Van Halen tickets.

There are lots of discussions in Jefferson City about turning parts of I-70 into a toll road. While I am open to the concept of toll roads in Missouri, and while I acknowledge the need for I-70 to be completely redone, I am very wary of the current plans being presented.

You have certainly heard this series of Q&A jokes as many times as I have: Q1: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? A1: A Trilingual; Q2: What do you call someone who speaks two languages? A2: A Bilingual; Q3: What do you call someone who speaks one language? A3: An American.

Phone calls to customer service are getting exceedingly excruciating these days.

It’s official.

On Jan. 17, Gov. Jay Nixon delivered his State of the State address for 2012. As usual, the governor was eloquent in his delivery. I commend the governor for his comments about Joplin and the resilience and teamwork the community has shown since May 22, 2011. There is no doubt the Legislature and administration could learn a lot from Joplin residents and the community that has supported them.

I was born and grew up in a small village in Cameroon. Traveling no more than 10 miles away from my village to the next one put me in the middle of a totally new dialect. Even in our home, my siblings and I communicated in one language with our mother and in another with father. My multilingualism is similar to millions of other children who are exposed to multiple languages at their early age; simply speaking to infants in two languages allows them to learn both in the same time it takes most babies to learn one. Their brains become more flexible, and better apt to multitasking and higher functioning than monolinguals.

Around 5 p.m. Tuesday of this week, there was most certainly a celebratory feeling going on among some at the Lee’s Summit R-7 District.

If the southern gentleman and former Speaker of the Houses Newt Gingrich places second or third in South Carolina this weekend, you can just about bet we’ve seen the last of his bid for president.

Courage is a word that is often associated with actions that evoke images of seemingly unattainable bravery or success. There are moments when an individual or a group of people achieve what would otherwise be deemed impossible if not for the ability to set aside fears and continue with unwavering determination.

You already know this obvious fact: our world is becoming more and more global, interconnected and borderless. Do you know that right here our community is becoming increasingly diverse in various ways including the influx of international population?

I suppose when you finish so poorly in the first two votes of the primary election season, things get a little dicey for your campaign.

Any parent can tell you this could be the tagline for just about any day in the life of their young child. For me, we experienced all three in a short period of time in the past week.

I am excited to return to work in the Capitol as the 2012 legislative session opened on Jan. 4. I look forward to a busy legislative season, knowing that we face many challenges in making decisions governing the state and continuing to make Missouri a great place for people to live and work.

As Missouri lawmakers returned to Jefferson City this month for their 2012 session, we are hopeful that our elected officials will be able to provide assistance to our schools in several areas. Specifically, we are seeking clarification related to the loss of accreditation by the Kansas City school district. In addition, we are asking our legislators to address problems with the state funding formula which currently provides unfair advantage to districts designated as “hold-harmless.” The Kansas City school district lost its accreditation effective Jan. 1. State law currently allows students in unaccredited districts to transfer to any accredited district in the same or adjoining counties. In addition, the law requires that the unaccredited district pay tuition and transportation costs for its students who transfer.

If things remain stagnant in Lee’s Summit, then three individuals are going to walk right into seats on the City Council without a fight. That, folks, is unacceptable.

Over the weekend I took to social media for comfort in the fact that I am not going crazy.