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Wake Up, Little Suzy

The reporter by me yesterday settled down in his chair, almost wedged into the corner of the crowded conference room where the brand new House Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture was having its debut hearing.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the reporter's chin drop to his chest. Soon, he was softly snoring.

Make no mistake. I'm not picking on the guy. The room was crowded, and the reporters' table was situated sideways to the action.
The action was subcommittee members grilling Chuck Conners, USDA deputy secretary. It was hard to hear. We were elbow to elbow at the table, and it was 10 a.m., maybe not enough time for the caffeine to have set in.
I almost didn't get into the hearing, and my arrival caused my table mates no small inconvenience. The guy next to me shifted into the very corner seat, perhaps putting the action even further out of his line of vision and hearing.
During the proceedings, his head dropped intermittently, and the soft snores began. Then he would wake up as if never asleep, ask me to pass a note or what the name of a subcommittee member was.
I admired his flexibility, but I couldn't help but wonder, was he from the Washington Post?
The Associated Press? The Dallas Morning News?
There was no way to tell without being obvious, and the atmosphere wasn't conducive to talking among ourselves.
Curiousity burning, I left the hearing room, vowing to attend the subcommittee's next meeting in hopes of finding out who Little Suzy is.
And, no, I didn't sleep a wink in there.

Posted by Trish Choate at 12:35 PM | Permalink