on his life, and the decision to continue directly affects other people, specifically, Helen, who may very well lose her husband, certainly Walt who almost bought the farm today and of course the SS team that is responsible for everyone’s safety.
“I’d like to hear from each of you.”
Helen spoke first, “The last thing that I want is to lose this dear, sweet man, but I know that if I were to say, 'quit,' he would spend his remaining days wondering, what if?
“No, we knew going in that there were risks and we made the decision up front that the potential benefits of his candidacy were worth the price. I’m still in.”
Sully spoke next, “I think that I can speak for my whole team when I say that we knew what we were getting into when we joined the Secret Service. This is our job. This is what we signed up for. We’re in.”
Then, all eyes turned to me.
I suppose that I could have walked away at that moment and left Ben on his own. No one would have blamed me given the close shave we experienced today, but there was just something exciting and intriguing about this whole situation. I heartily endorsed everything that I had heard Ben say and I was totally frustrated with the condition of our government and the ‘politics as usual’ stance of the other two candidates. To be able to play a part in something that might actually change the course of history is not something that comes along every day. I felt that this was something important and I wanted to be part of it.
“Hey, I’m getting pretty hooked on these fancy hotels and room service. I don’t think I’m ready to give it all up just yet. Let’s do this thing.”
Ben gave me a smile and a wink.
Since everyone was in agreement, Paul didn’t waste any time, “I figured that would be the consensus, so we’d better turn in, we’ve got an early flight tomorrow.”
“So where are we off to now?” I asked.
“Dallas, Texas,” Ben replied. “Now that I’ve pissed off the giant pharmaceutical companies, I figured it was time to take on Big Oil, and where better to do it than right in the heart of oil country.
“Anybody want to join me in a hot fudge sundae?”
Great , I thought, It’s probably time to put on my asbestos underwear because it looks like we’re going from the frying pan right into the fire .
As I was heading for my room, Paul Ford pulled me aside, “Walt, you’re not going to Dallas with us tomorrow. We have a little detour for you and you’ll join us later.”
Swell , I thought, probably another Miss Haversham .
“Do you like to fish?” Paul asked.
“I’ve held a pole or two,” I replied.
“Great, because you’re going fishing with Senator Grimley on Amelia Lake in Virginia.”
“Why?”
“Because he invited Ben. Senator Grimley is very influential on Capitol Hill and holds the chairmanship of several committees. I’m sure he wants to feel out the new candidate.”
“Couldn’t Ben do a better job of that?”
“He could, but he’s going to be holed up in a hotel in Dallas getting ready to crucify the big oil companies. We have confidence in you, Walt.”
“I wish that I did!”
Senator Ross Grimley and a couple of his aides met me at the airport in Richmond.
We piled into a Hummer that was as big as a Sherman Tank and headed to the lake.
The Senator’s boat was already in the water and the motor was idling.
It was a 2012 model Nitro Z-9 with a 250 HP Mercury OptiMax motor that the Senator told me would whisk us across the water at 70 miles per hour.
The boat had every possible option and the whole outfit probably cost as much as a small nuclear submarine.
This being Virginia, I wondered how many pieces of tobacco legislation the Senator had
“I’d like to hear from each of you.”
Helen spoke first, “The last thing that I want is to lose this dear, sweet man, but I know that if I were to say, 'quit,' he would spend his remaining days wondering, what if?
“No, we knew going in that there were risks and we made the decision up front that the potential benefits of his candidacy were worth the price. I’m still in.”
Sully spoke next, “I think that I can speak for my whole team when I say that we knew what we were getting into when we joined the Secret Service. This is our job. This is what we signed up for. We’re in.”
Then, all eyes turned to me.
I suppose that I could have walked away at that moment and left Ben on his own. No one would have blamed me given the close shave we experienced today, but there was just something exciting and intriguing about this whole situation. I heartily endorsed everything that I had heard Ben say and I was totally frustrated with the condition of our government and the ‘politics as usual’ stance of the other two candidates. To be able to play a part in something that might actually change the course of history is not something that comes along every day. I felt that this was something important and I wanted to be part of it.
“Hey, I’m getting pretty hooked on these fancy hotels and room service. I don’t think I’m ready to give it all up just yet. Let’s do this thing.”
Ben gave me a smile and a wink.
Since everyone was in agreement, Paul didn’t waste any time, “I figured that would be the consensus, so we’d better turn in, we’ve got an early flight tomorrow.”
“So where are we off to now?” I asked.
“Dallas, Texas,” Ben replied. “Now that I’ve pissed off the giant pharmaceutical companies, I figured it was time to take on Big Oil, and where better to do it than right in the heart of oil country.
“Anybody want to join me in a hot fudge sundae?”
Great , I thought, It’s probably time to put on my asbestos underwear because it looks like we’re going from the frying pan right into the fire .
As I was heading for my room, Paul Ford pulled me aside, “Walt, you’re not going to Dallas with us tomorrow. We have a little detour for you and you’ll join us later.”
Swell , I thought, probably another Miss Haversham .
“Do you like to fish?” Paul asked.
“I’ve held a pole or two,” I replied.
“Great, because you’re going fishing with Senator Grimley on Amelia Lake in Virginia.”
“Why?”
“Because he invited Ben. Senator Grimley is very influential on Capitol Hill and holds the chairmanship of several committees. I’m sure he wants to feel out the new candidate.”
“Couldn’t Ben do a better job of that?”
“He could, but he’s going to be holed up in a hotel in Dallas getting ready to crucify the big oil companies. We have confidence in you, Walt.”
“I wish that I did!”
Senator Ross Grimley and a couple of his aides met me at the airport in Richmond.
We piled into a Hummer that was as big as a Sherman Tank and headed to the lake.
The Senator’s boat was already in the water and the motor was idling.
It was a 2012 model Nitro Z-9 with a 250 HP Mercury OptiMax motor that the Senator told me would whisk us across the water at 70 miles per hour.
The boat had every possible option and the whole outfit probably cost as much as a small nuclear submarine.
This being Virginia, I wondered how many pieces of tobacco legislation the Senator had
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