Sine Die Part 1: The Senate

If the Senate is compared to one thing, more often than not, it's a club. There are rules, and there are codes of conduct, and there are behind-closed-doors agreements, but mostly it's 31 people sitting in a room trying to make things better. Never was that collegiate nature more obvious than last night with the end of session.

"I have a message from the speaker of the House," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, "and he asks us, can we stay until midnight?"

The assembled Senate jokingly booed, then got on with the serious business of saying goodbye. Sure, there were some technical corrections to pass, but mostly there were farewells. Many wore tiny flashing lapel pins as they traipsed from desk to desk. The few die-hard politics watchers in the gallery got to see Jacksonville GOPer Robert Nichols and San Antonio Dem Leticia Van de Putte hug, while freshmen Dan Patrick and Austin's own Kirk Watson exchanged pleasantries.

At 8:08pm, with a technical correction to House Bill 12 concluding all business, it was up to Dean of the Senate John Whitmire, D-Houston, to ask Dewhurst to call the session to a close. Less than two weeks ago, the two had daggers drawn, but now they executed the formalities with good-natured banter. Dewhurst looked around and uttered the final words of the 80th session for this chamber: "The Senate is adjourned, sine die."

And the gavel came down.