A quick glimpse into the humor of Rep. Rick Hube.

As Gov. Jim Douglas noted this morning in a statement on Hube's death, Hube traveled to China with the governor and a group of Vermont business owners this year.

House Minority Leader Patti Komline relayed the story yesterday of how Hube joked on that trip that he was having Peking duck with a lame-duck governor.

Another Hube story relayed to me today: Last session, when Sen. Vince Illuzzi managed to snare funding for Sterling College, mysterious invitations went out around the Statehouse to an event honoring Illuzzi at Sterling College. There was, however, no time or date, only a phone number on the invitation. It was, of course, Illuzzi's cell phone. The mysterious hand behind that invitation: Hube.

He loved the quick joke but he also loved sinking his teeth into the policy and he was always had his finger on the politics of the Statehouse. If there was a close controversial vote coming up, he'd always be game to speculate on the vote count. He was usually at least close.

Share your Hube stories. And your Ira Trombley stories.

- Terri Hallenbeck

Labels: Gov. Jim Douglas, Rep. Rick Hube