When I arrived at the office, Jack told me to breathe in deeply. I took a deep breath loud enough for him to hear the air flowing through my nostrils.
“Ok,” he said. “You’re good.”
That was how my boss checked to see if I was sick.
Jack arrived to work 45 minutes late. Well, more like I arrived 30 minutes early. I still am adjusting to taking the Metro and can’t quite believe it always runs on time. Twice now, I’ve taken it with the intention of arriving 30 minutes early, and twice, I have arrived half an hour ahead of schedule. We’ll see if I ever arrive on time.
After HR approved my contract, Jack took me on a walk to the Capitol Building. On the way, he gave me good advice.
“This job is easy. Don’t worry about it.”
I wondered if his opinion was recent or if he had held it 20-something years ago when he first started at the Dispatch.
Walking around Capitol Hill, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I marveled at everything, from the tunnels connecting the congress people’s buildings to the buffet where Jack treated me. I learned Jack graduated the Ohio State University the same year as my dad and even majored in the same subject. It was a big school though, so they probably didn’t know each other.
We ate lunch because Jack didn’t want to wait in line for the security guard to check my ID. Once that was checked, we went to take my photo and have my press pass printed.
“With that,” Jack said, “You can get into all the Capitol buildings and the Supreme Court. But not the White House.”
The White House could wait. I couldn’t stop grinning. All I was thinking to myself was, “Your boy is press official.”