My boss is retiring from the Senate. Well, former boss. But once you call a Senator "boss," you always call him that. He announced his retirement on Tuesday and it came as a total surprise to party leadership. I'm sure they're not happy about trying to fill a formerly democratic Senate seat from a republican state.
I had some great times in the office of Byron Dorgan. I took loads of people on tours of the Capitol building. I climbed around in the rafters of the Rotunda. I spend many hours sitting in Byron's car while he attended meetings or just jumped out and grabbed a bite to eat. He told me once that the only way he was able to stay on the Hill as long as he had was to get off the Hill to eat as often as possible. I remember riding with him somewhere and he was talking to me about one of the President's policies. Later that day I heard him give nearly the same speech on the floor of the Senate. I was kinda proud to know he used me as a practice audience.
Then there was the time we locked him out of his car and had to get the Capitol Police to try to pop open his car door while I chased down the intern that accidentally walked away with his car keys. Yeah, that was a good time.
Probably the coolest thing that ever happened to me though, was when I rode with him to a meeting at the White House. I was supposed to stay with the car so he could park anywhere he needed to, but there was reserved parking for him. So I got to follow Senator Dorgan into the East Room of the White House and listen as Laura Bush introduced her husband, President George W. Bush. When the symposium on heart disease and all the photo ops were over, a lady in the audience asked me for directions lol. I must have looked official in my black suit and name tag, but boy did I feel like I was off my home turf! That experience definitely ranks in the top 10 coolest things I've ever done.
Of course I didn't love sorting through stacks of mail from constituents who disapproved of one of Byron's decisions, but I loved sitting in the Senator's office while he dictated a response to one of his constituents.
All told, my 3 years in Byron's office were some of the best of my life so far. Good luck in your new adventures, Boss.
7 comments:
Fun stories - you never told me about going into the White House, how cool!
Thanks for sharing. I remember well having you take us on the tour.
When I read that in the paper this morning, I almost called you right then, but I'm sure I'd have waked you up. Pretty awesome experiences! I still think about how brave and daring you were, fresh out of college, packing up two suitcases and heading off to Washington DC all alone. What a strong woman you are! And, just think what might have been if you hadn't gone.
Do you exercise for comments? :) Dad and I (and later Lisa and I) were talking this morning about how different this will be for North Dakota. They will lose some powerful seniority, and most likely will not pick a Democrat again. We always thought it was interesting that such a Republican state had three Democrats in Washington DC.
Lol, I should start exercising for comments. I'll do some jumping jacks just for you ;).
This will definitely change things for ND. I'm almost sure the seat will go to a Republican now. The three Congressmen sure were good at getting money to the state!
super cool, kathy. was thinking of you this week!
Too funny! I thought of you when I heard that news too! It's weird to think of Senator Dorgan not being in Washington... he's been there as long as I can remember! It'll sure be interesting to see who they elect!
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