by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I fancy myself someone who can talk to anyone. I have a bit of Larry King in me in that respect. In 2016, the vice presidential debate was (somewhat) near my home so I went to Farmville to check it out.
A few things remain vivid in my mind of this event. One is, the State Police apparently thought I was a deranged lunatic because they kept getting extremely close to me as if to intemidate me away from the event. They stared at me a lot too –full on stink eye. It doesn’t really jibe with my self-perception to be seen as a some sort of threat to anyone, so them making it clear I wasn’t welcome did wonders for my self-esteem, let me tell you.
Another thing I remember was meeting Lou Dobbs and instantly realizing he was a massive dickhead. I met him for just a moment and shook his hand and I instantly knew he was extremely arrogant.
The last thing I remember is meeting one of my journalistic heroes, Dan Balz of The Washington Post. I spoke to him very briefly and joked that, “I’m the guy all the security is meant to prevent getting anywhere near the inside.”
Now, in my mind, the context was meant to be self-deprecating and tinged with hyperbole as if to say, “Imagine that!”
And, yet, the instant I said it, you could tell from his body language that he was startled. That, too, did wonders for my self-esteem. He took my joke literally and for the rest of the day I avoided him at all costs in fear he was going to sick the law on me.
Anyway. That was a long time ago.
