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Consider this my “Dear Josh” column. At least this opening segment is addressed to Boone County Republican Delegate Joshua Nelson. He tells me (when he’s talking to me) that he prefers to be called “Joshua” rather than “Josh.” He says, “it makes me SOUND older.” Apparently it does nothing to prohibit immature behavior, however.

Readers should know you are sharing this epistle to Nelson, which I would have delivered directly and politely to him except for the fact that he avoided me at the capitol for four full days last week.

Despite repeated calls to his cell phone and messages left at his offices, he did not call me back nor did I run into him in the hallways as I have every other week since he got to the legislature. Strangely absent was Joshua or Josh or … oh well.

Bringing readers up to speed, last week I wrote about the absurdity of legislators who stood in the hall of the capitol and posed with machine guns. They did it with guns that were on display by the National Guard and others. Undoubtedly, I’m sure the guns were NOT loaded. I pointed out that I did not intend to name the offending legislators because I figured voters in their districts would reward them with increased vote totals for their antics.

Nelson apparently believes I should have named names and he called an editor to complain that I had “lied on me” by saying one of the delegates who held a gun recently had a domestic charge against him in family court. Nelson somehow alleged that I had accused him of domestic violence. One hopes he did not actually ever read the column to come to that strange conclusion.

But anyway, Dear Joshua, you were NOT the delegate to which I referred. In fact, on Monday morning before the column appeared, I TOLD you, face-to-face, what I had written and who I was writing about. Did you snooze through the conversation?

Since you insist, however, I will agree that you may have a point. Rupie Phillips, a Logan County Democrat, is the delegate who aimed a gun after having the domestic violence petition filed against him. As far as I know, you have never had such a petition filed against you, although your reaction frankly causes me to wonder.

As far as I am concerned, no voter or anyone else would know you were even one of the delegates who sighted a gun if you had not told everybody yourself in reference to my column. Hmmmn.

Let me assure you, however, that the best way to approach a writer is to … well, approach HIM or HER. Not his or her editor. I would have calmly listened to your point of view, no matter how off-base it is, and tried to respond to you. Instead, I must resort to “Dear Joshua” columns. Hopefully, Boone County voters do not have similar experiences when you disagree with their points of view.

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Continuing on with Delegate Nelson of Boone, however, he also caused tongues to wag in the home district last week when he promoted legislation to make the pepperoni roll the official state food. Callers asked if that was the most pressing matter before lawmakers. Oh my, folks. I can’t make this stuff up.

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Former Democrat State Chairman Nick Casey was working the halls of the capitol last week. Casey, a prominent Charleston attorney, often appears on behalf of various clients during legislative sessions.

Speculation arose, though, that Casey may test the political waters himself by running for the congressional seat left vacant by retiring Republican House member Shelley Moore Capito. Capito plans to run for the United States senate next year.

Casey, well liked among his peers, would be a formidable force in any election. He is well-known for representing the Catholic Church and the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in legal matters.

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The other U.S. Senator, former Governor Joe Manchin, was working the crowd while watching his home-standing Fairmont Senior High School last week at the state boys basketball tournament.

Manchin was accompanied by former newspaperman Michael Browning, now an aide to the senator.

When I asked Browning what he and the senator were doing at the tourney on a Friday, he said Manchin wanted to see the Polar Bears in action at the Charleston Civic Center.

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There were red faces in the governor’s office last week after an invitation was delivered to a delegate’s desk in the house chamber.

Republican Delegate Gary Howell of Mineral County received an invitation to an event being sponsored by First Lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin addressed to: “Delegate who’s name I can’t remember.”

Although the invite might not even actually have been intended for Howell, it was an embarrassment to the First Lady caused by her staff.

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People do make mistakes, of course. Even I, your intrepid columnist, MIGHT make a miscue sometime. Highly unlikely, but possible. As we note in the capitol offices, I am extremely good looking and highly intelligent but what most people notice first is my overwhelming humility.

Anyway, the First Lady’s invitation reminded old hands of the time former Governor Cecil H. Underwood worked on his holiday card for an upcoming season. Underwood hand-scribbled on the front of last year’s card, “same picture, different message,” expecting his assistants to write something appropriate for the current year.

When the card was printed and Underwood saw one that had already been mailed, to his horror he looked at the copy. You guessed it, the staff had followed the governor’s exact directive. The card had the same beautiful photo from the previous year with the printed words, “same picture, different message.”

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Although those close to Lincoln County Delegate Josh Stowers insist he will run for re-election rather than trying to unseat Senator Ron Stollings of Boone, speculation still persists that Stowers will seek to move up next year. His sister, Amy, was among the Democrat Women who visited the statehouse last week. She, too, says her brother is not challenging Stollings.

Although Amy Stowers was not introduced by legislators from the gallery last week, about every other Democrat woman there was. Taxpayers would likely enjoy sitting in the gallery and watching their legislators spend more time with ceremonial greetings during the early days of a session than legislation.

While I understand that it is often a rare occurrence for some to travel to the capitol for a visit, it seems all the Democrat women, for example, could have been introduced jointly. Instead, Delegage A from Boondock County insists on naming his or her local visitors and then goes on and on about some aspect of their lives. As with the official state food, there just might be something more important for legislators to do with their time.

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Some also think that if Josh Stowers remains in the house, his counterpart, Jeff Eldridge, another Lincoln Democrat, will run against Stollings again. Eldridge lost a narrow decision to the Madison doctor three years ago. In the interest of transparency, I will note that Stollings is my personal physician although that does not affect how he is treated here.

The Stollings-Eldridge race of 2010, in fact, nearly got caught up in the Lincoln County absentee ballot fiasco. Eldridge was part of the “courthouse gang” slate from Hamlin but apparently did nothing improper with the absentee ballots. Speculation at the time centered on the state senate race as a part of the conspiracy.

In fact, Stollings was a party when the so-called “losing” candidates tried to get Boone Circuit Judge Thompson to segregate absentee ballots from others on election day. Thompson ruled against the slate Stollings was on but he won over Eldridge, the absentee ballots notwithstanding. Stollings was less interested in the absentee ballot issue after that.

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If Eldridge runs for the senate, Danville Town Manager Josh Barker is rumored to be among those who would seek his vacant house seat. Barker lives in the Logan section of the house district that is still a part of Eldridge’s area. Barker, a Democrat, is the son of Senior Gubernatorial Advisor Raamie Barker.

Speaking of that seat in the house, several Republicans say Justin Mullins of Harts is so inspired by Joshua Nelson’s ability to get elected to the house in heavily-Democratic Boone that he (Mullins) will run for the house seat from Lincoln next year.

Mullins has been very active in Republican party affairs, working at the state party headquarters last year. Like Nelson, he would be fighting an overwhelming Democrat registration margin but, like Nelson, he apparently thinks he can overcome that lead.

Mullins is the son of well-known Harts resident Greg Mullins, who narrowly lost a bid for Lincoln County school board last year. Justin Mullins is a student at Southern West Virginia Community College and, like Nelson, is a young man.

From this point forward, I will refer to Mullins as “Justinua” to make him SOUND older.

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State Auditor Glen Gainer is said to be mulling over the possibility of running for the U.S. senate next year. Although the Gainers apparently “own” the auditor’s office by virtue of their surname, it is not likely state voters would be very impressed by the low-key Gainer.

While both the senate seat and congress look inviting for many would-be candidates, the serious side will likely prohibit most from running. For one thing, it takes a small fortune these days to even mount a statewide campaign.

This is also true for the state senate seats in Kanawha, where openings are likely to exist. Dozens of would-be candidates keep talking about these openings but few will ever be serious candidates.

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Speaking of the intrepid press, Delegate Woody Ireland had to cancel his credit card last week after both the Charleston Daily Mail and The Charleston Gazette ran photos of him holding it up while debating gun control legislation. Ireland was using the card to make a point but learned that this aspect of show-and-tell has negative results.

The Daily Mail featured a huge front page photo that clearly showed the numbers and expiration date of Ireland’s card. The Gazette had a smaller version but the numbers were still legible.

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At the midway point of this year’s legislature, little has been accomplished despite proclamations by legislators assuring the home folks that it has. You will continue to be there every day by way of my representation so if there is a question, tidbit or tip you want to pass along, feel free to call my cell at 304-533-5185.