I was on the job for the old Gazette on Monday, and the assignment was Troy. I talked to people camped out at roadsides near Hudson Valley Community College as they awaited the arrival of President Barack Obama.
I was up around 7 a.m., and out of the shower a few minutes later. I wasn’t sure what to wear, and considered just a shirt, slacks, tie and windbreaker for the morning interviews. I reconsidered — after all, the president was coming to town. Even though I was not covering the presidential pep talk inside the college, I thought a visit by the leader of the free world deserved my new black suit, white shirt and blue, black and white silk tie.
Black socks and black shoes, too, if you really want to know.
It was a sunny day, and I also wore my deep black Dirty Harry-style sunglasses. I forgot the most important part of my wardrobe, a baseball cap that would have prevented sunshine from turning the top of my head and the whole of my face a nice shade of late summer crimson. Coppertone, where fore art thou?
But we all have our misfortunes. Once in Troy, I began stalking the sidelines on campus, shades down, looking for people to talk to about Obama’s visit. I wasn’t on the job for 10 minutes before a goofy-looking college kid came up to me and asked, with a half-smile: “Are you a Secret Service agent?”
I had just been paging through a notebook: The kid thought he had discovered one of Obama’s advance men, sweeping the campus before the boss showed up. I briefly thought about screwing around. I could lift wristwatch to lips and say “Liberty task force Coronet Blue ... out of service five minutes.” And then address the kid in stern fashion: “Sir, will you come with me to the administration building? I have a few questions for you.”
The kid probably would have swallowed his Starbursts. But I didn’t have time to fool around, so I answered. “Just a reporter.”
I didn’t think too much about the connection to the federal bodyguards. Until about 10 minutes later, when I made my way through LaSalle Institute on the way to Williams Road and the side of the HVCC campus. Some adult on the school grounds saw me, a lone man wearing a black suit and sunglasses, and said: “Busy day, huh?”
“Yeah,” I answered, kind of surprised at the question. The guy couldn’t have known I was a reporter ... did he think the Secret Service was checking out the LaSalle perimeter? I was wearing a Gazette press badge around my neck, but it was not legible unless you were just about right in front of me.
If I had been wearing a baseball-style hat, that would have blown the whole caper. Secret Service is formal; on sunny days, their bare heads and clean-shaven faces both scorch.
I walked down Williams Road toward Route 4, past the people in lawn chairs, on bicycles. A bunch of people just stared at me. I heard a few whispered “Secret Service?” comments, but others figured out the truth: “He’s got a notebook, must be a reporter.”
The funniest bit happened when I approached people, flipped open notebook and introduced myself: “Excuse me, sir, my name is Jeff Wilkin from The Daily Gazette .....” By the looks of some faces, it looked like they had heard: “Excuse me sir, my name is Agent Smith from the Secret Service ....” They just looked a little spooked, at first, figuring the Obama T-shirt they were wearing or sign they were carrying would have to go.
There’s must be something about the look that says “menace.” It worked for the philosophical hit men played by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in “Pulp Fiction.” It worked for the space lawmen played by Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in the “Men in Black” movies.
After Obama had arrived, and was at the podium, two people standing on the college grounds saw me walking Vandenburgh Avenue and called out: “Where’s Obama?” I answered, “He’s inside.” Then one asked, “Can we get in to see him?”
Couldn’t help. They looked like threats to national security, anyway.
Think I’m going to have to start lifting more weights, and maybe start that tae-kwan-do at the YMCA I’ve been considering for like forever. If the Secret Service look is working for me this fall, maybe I better get a little more serious about the part.
