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Yesterday, October 18, 2021, Colin Powell passed away from complications due to COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated. Imagine that? Although he made the choice to ultimately drink from the dank waters of the Deep State Swamp, the man nonetheless had a human side, as conveyed to me by a friend who wishes to remain anonymous…
It was midsummer 2002, only ten months after 9/11. I was 26 years old at the time, eager to make a difference, save the country from Islamic Jihad, make world a better place. The Department of State (DoS) had offered me a 90-day paid internship as a GS-4 in Washington, D.C. I took it, determined to get my foot in the door.
On my first day as a Federal Employee, I reported for duty at seven o’clock in the morning.
DoS HQ is, of course, quite large; it has two zip codes with probably 30,000 employees in the main building. In-processing with HR and Security for the bureaucratic machine took nearly five hours. Finally, at about 12:15, I headed down from my assigned 'office' / cube farm to find a bite to eat.
HQ had a large food court in the main building with over two dozen vendors ranging from Taco Bell to more exotic fare. I acquired nothing unusual - a slice of pizza, some bread sticks, and a coffee from Papa John’s. It took nearly 30 minutes to navigate the melee and lines of the food court, but by about 12:45, I wandered into the vast area of seating, tray in hand. Knowing no one, but observing all, I located a mildly empty area and proceeded to grab a seat.
Ten minutes later, at about 12:55, Secretary of State Powell came in with his lunch, having gone through the long line like a 'normal' person, and proceeded to sit three seats away from me.
He waved the guards off to a table nearby.
As he sat down, he looked over my way. Perhaps I had that glazed over newbie look, but as his eyes caught mine, he asked simply, "How are you doing today, Sir?"
I looked back and replied, "Doing well Sir, thank you for asking.”
He responded "Glad to hear that."
Then we both continued quietly with our lunches.
Anyway, I always thought that was a nice touch. The upper echelon had their own dining areas and such. Sometimes you would see a staffer collecting an order to take to take back to the higher-ups. But virtually every day, Secretary Powell would eat lunch with the “rank and file,” occasionally engaging in discussions that were not work related.
Of course, I saw him other times while I was there for business, but that brief exchange on my first day was the only personal interaction we ever had.
Little did I know that nearly 20 years later, I would be a jaded / cynical refugee of the Soviet Occupation within my own county…
Endnote
This was adapted from an email sent to me by friend yesterday and is 100% authentic. More often than not, it is the tiniest acts of kindness that people remember the most about us, which is something we should all keep in the front of our minds as we make our way thru this insanely bizarre time that we find ourselves in.
Thanks for reading folks and keep fighting the tyranny!
Mark
October 19, 2021
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