The Foggy Bottom-George Washington University station is where I get on and off the Metro for my commutes to and from work every day. The metro stop is directly underneath the GWU hospital, where Sen. Tim Johnson has been undergoing treatment the last few days. As you all know (or should know) Johnson collapsed earlier this week and later underwent surgery to stop bleeding in his brain, thus leaving the already-delicate Democratic majority in the Senate in a total panic.
The last couple days, as I've walked by the hospital, there have been hordes of TV cameras and reporters camped out in front of the entrance, hoping to catch a quote from a family member or one of Johnson's doctors. And each day I've passed them with a little smile on my face, content in the knowledge that for the first time in four years, it isn't me circling like one of those sharks, hungry for the smell of blood. (Pun intended.)
I hated camping out in hospitals. It was the absolute worst part of the job. Rarely do you ever get anything newsworthy out of it and most of the time, you'll get a nasty scowl or even a threat of bodily harm for your trouble.
So these last few days as I keep my fingers crossed for that Democratic majority (and Johnson's recovery, of course!), I've also been grateful for my pressure-free NGO job where the word deadline is loosely defined. Rather than being due in the next 2 hours, most of my projects are due "in the next couple weeks or sometime around then."
There are still plenty of things about journalism that I miss. And the tight deadlines and excitement are definitely two major points. But at this time of year, I'm happy to know that when I turn on my cell phone in the morning and there's a message waiting for me it isn't from a certain Lunatic Editor demanding I rush to the scene of a fire, but rather is just a friend asking if I want to meet for lunch.
P.S. I fly home Sunday! Hooray!
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2 comments:
Makes me sad to think that if this had happened to Johnson a year ago, none of us would have really paid any attention. I feel almost guilty for hoping he's okay, because I know that my motives are not really about him.
My favorite thing about the deadlines at my job (and Tuesday is my last day!) is the fact that they don't seem to exist at all. We are champions of the "no-cost extenstion."
Hooray indeed for the no-cost extension. A time-honored tradition in Washington it seems. :)
And yes, I also have ulterior motives in hoping for Johnson's recovery. Every time I think of his wife sitting beside his bed I feel pretty bad about the political intrigue that surrounds his health. But still: It would really sting if this was why the Dems lost the majority.
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