Vignettes from a Work Picnic, Part Two

While I was munching on my veggie burgers, a couple of colleagues were discussing old age and how long they would like to live. One, a mid-fifties white male, said that he has a goal, "a modest goal," to grow old enough that he can pinch "a woman's bottom" without getting in trouble.  He said he was joking, but in the years I've known him, I know he is the type of person who will do what he thinks he can get away with. He'd do it if he could, he just can't get by with it.

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All of this made me think of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, a republican from South Carolina.  He also served as Governor of South Carolina and ran as a candidate for President under the Dixiecrat banner.

He's 100! United States Army, photo by Jermone Howard

  I interned at the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence during the initial Violence Against Women Act passage.  I attend a few hearings and votes, including one with Sen. Thurmond. However, the candid moments in the halls of Congress give the best indication of a person's moral compass. He was quite a character.

I remember seeing him wheeled to the back of the elevator reserved for members and staff.  Two interns hopped on as the doors were closing.  Sen. Thurmond ogled their young asses, and I bet his shaky, liver-spotted hands were poised for pinching once the door shut.