Joe Bruno might be retired from Albany, but he was still schmoozing like an expert pol at the GOP convention. “Retirement’s going really well,” he said at a breakfast for the New York State delegation on September 4. “I’m busier than all get-out. I’m working with CMA Consulting; we’re a computer-integration company in fourteen states. I’m spending more time with the family. And I’m spending more time with the horses up at the farm.” Enjoying the farmwork? “Feel my muscles,” he said. “From manure. Lifting manure in the barn. No greater pastime. Very therapeutic. Clears the sinuses. You ever muck a stall? Well, when you go into a stall and it needs cleaning, let me tell you, it’s very therapeutic.” So is there more manure to wade through on the farm or in politics? “I’ve got to tell you,” he said, “it’s very close.”

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Jada Yuan
• Table of Contents: Sep 15, 2008 issue of New York | Subscribe!