Sen. Deb Fischer, R–Neb., talks about her fruit pies, friendship with fellow Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and doing what you love.  

Q : I hear you like to cook, what do you make?  

A : I cook comfort foods. I like meat loaf and roast beef and soups. And I love to make pies. My best pie, my husband says, is peach pie. I like fruit pies.  

Q : You also garden. What do you plant in your garden?  

A : Those days are kind of fading. I used to have a huge vegetable garden but I just don’t have time for it now. It’s mostly just flowers now. My gardening’s gone the way of my golf game — I don’t have time to do it.  

Q : What’s your favorite Senate friendship?  

A : I really enjoy Cory Booker [D-N.J.]. He and I are on the Commerce Committee together. We work well together and we try and find issues that we work well together on. We’re different people from different areas of the country, but I’d say we like each other a lot.  

Q : You studied education in college. What did you originally want to do with that degree?  

A : I went back to school and got my education degree because I was involved with a lot of different education groups. And it ended up I served for like 20 years on a school board and I was involved with state boards, as well. But, when I was in college the first time, I always planned to go to law school. But, I fell in love with a rancher, so I raised a family and then went back to school and got my education degree. Never taught, but used it in my role as a board member.  

Q : You have three sons, would you ever suggest that they become politicians?  

A : No [laughs ], they have their own interests. I think they are active in their communities, they’re busy with their lives, but they have their own interests. I think you have to have a calling to do whatever job you want to do. You have to love what you’re doing. And while a couple of them are really interested in current events and watching all the goings on and happenings, serving in an elected position isn’t really their deal. I always tell people you have to do what you love and I tell that to my kids, as well.  

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