Yeah Man, those were some really good days for me back then in the late 70s, early 80s -- coming to Marion Barry's DC, a then, majority Black mecca in my mind, from Charleston, a then, pretty racist, yet majority Black small, Southern town and falling into a job where I got to see, meet and learn from a myriad of folk. When Obama got elected (I was living in NE then) and more Black folk were participating in press briefings and White House events, I used to joke that I'd actually done some of that wa-a-ay back in the late 70s, early 80s, thanks to Mr. Duscha.

As a result of working at the Journalism Center, I later worked at the Watergate in the Reservations Dept. I got that hook-up because the Center held its monthly conferences for journalists at the Watergate and part of my job was the logistics of it all. That's how I met Wanda, Sugar Ray Leonard's sister-in-law, who later became my boss there (I got to meet him as well -- before he and the sister broke up). I met even more folk there -- plus better pay and better opportunity for advancement since the Center was only a 3-person office! Pearl Bailey lived there then, and she treated us all so well everyday as she came and went -- almost like an Auntie, asking after our families and what we were up to. And she was more than generous during Christmas time!!

It was a heady time for my little country ass, full of wonderful lived experiences. The young women I worked with there were of various ethnic backgrounds and encouraged me to follow my dream of becoming a French linguist -- that's how I ended up in the Navy (no more tuition to pay!)

Sorry to "talk" your ear off -- but the trip down memory lane with someone from DC's pretty nice! Thanks 💯 for listening!