Apropos of nothing, here's a beautiful shot of the Maine State House here in Augusta, as it appeared in yesterday's Kennebec Journal, the local newspaper. (Not taken recently, of course, judging by the fall foliage and the lack of snow.) I worked there for 21 years as a newspaper reporter covering the Legislature, three governors and the rest of state government. It was an exhausting, grueling, often maddening experience, but also one that could be exhilarating and highly satisfying at times. I took early retirement in 2008.
Invariably, when retirees are asked if they hanker after their old jobs, they reply that they miss the people they worked with, but not where they were employed.
My recollections are a bit different.
I do have fond memories of many of the people I covered as a reporter, and of fellow journalists with whom I shared a warren of offices. But it was a mixed bag. Politicians, bureaucrats and lobbyists can be a tiresome bunch. Thin-skinned. Puffed up. Blindly partisan. Especially when your job involves, as mine did, getting them to speak plainly and truthfully. Often, too, dealing with newspaper editors is not good for a reporter's blood pressure. (Think: Peter Principle.)
Mostly, I miss the State House itself.
More often than not, I was grateful to leave the Capitol at the end of the work day (or night), but that was more a reflection on my job, including the people I was dealing with, than on the building itself. The State House, on the other hand, was a glorious place to hang your hat. It never failed to impress me as a dignified yet unpretentious setting in which to conduct the people's business. As befits the state it symbolizes.
No comments:
Post a Comment