One day as I was climbing onto the Hart/Dirksen subway to the capitol, I was startled by the excited voices of two small children who were climbing out of the last car. They were being chaperoned by an older couple. I could hear the older man, presumably the grandfather, ask in a booming voice, "Was that fun? Do you kids want to ride the subway again?" to which they shouted, "YES!!" "O.K. then, let's go up to the front!" They all piled into the front car, where I was seated. This was a bit unusual because the subway is not open to the public, and it's not typically used for joy-riding. To my surprise, it was Senator Leahy and his wife with two young grandchildren. He was dressed casually and carried a camera with which he continuously snapped pictures of the kids. The kids shouted excitedly the whole way to the capitol, and Senator Leahy and his wife both apologized for the disturbance. I assured them I didn't mind. I forgot to stand and offer my seat to the Senator's wife, who stood and leaned against the railing the whole time.
Once we stopped at the capitol, Senator Leahy turned to the kids and again asked, "Do you want to go again? OK, let's all go back to the front!" and they all got out and piled into the back car, which was now the front car. Everyone in the vicinity was distracted by the commotion. The guard rolled her eyes and shook her head. When I had completed my errand I returned to the subway and waited for the next car to take me back to the Hart Building. As it pulled up, who do I see but Senator Leahy and his family STILL riding in the first car. This time, they exit the subway for good and head into the Capitol. Their next game: riding the elevator marked Senators Only. This experience was probably the highlight of my week.
A short while later, I was in an elevator in the basement of the Capitol and the doors were almost completely closed when out of nowhere, a person darts through them with surprising agility and speed. Curious to see who was the athlete who had joined me in the elevator, I stare at the individual and see that it is Senator Risch. "Is there a vote going on?" I asked, trying to be friendly. He shrugged, smiling. "Yeah, that's what they tell me." I don't remember the rest of our interchange, but I found him very pleasant.
It's funny, but after little encounters like these, I find that I like the Senators a whole lot more than I did before, irrespective of their political ideologies. Once I nearly knocked Nancy Pelosi over as I turned a corner outside the Senate chamber and after that, I found that I liked her alot more, too. To them I'm nothing but a blip on the radar, but to me there is now a personal connection.
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