Bloomberg is a Wise Man!

A while ago... when Bush was running for election... I was invited to a Republican Watch Party in New York City.  Don't get me wrong, this wasn't one of many high profile events that I went to. I was lucky.  My boss at the time had donated money to the Republican party and knew his local representative personally, so he took a bunch of lawyers with him to the party. I'm not even a Republican, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to rub elbows with some high powered people.

It was in an Italian Restaurant in Midtown.  The place was swanky.  The atmosphere was good. I was getting chatted up by tons of people, as if I had something to offer.  Of course, it was a little distracting that people were outside protesting and throwing rocks at the restaurant.  From the window (and while behind a curtain) I could see people being carted off to an impromptu waterside jail that had been set up on a Pier on the Hudson River.  The whole experience was quite surreal.  Although I donned a Bush/Cheney pin that I destroyed as soon as I left the place--my heart was with the protesters.  I was anti-war and that was the primary cause of the protesters.   I felt like a spy.

At some point in the night Mayor Bloomberg, then a Republican, showed up with his blacked out SUVs and many body guards.   He is independently wealthy and its my understanding that he used his own money to pay for all that.  That made his arrival even more impressive.  I was quick shocked at how petite he was.  But, powerful men often come in small packages.  I was in awe.  Although he was a Republican, he was quite a popular mayor.  I was definitely a fan.  Besides, he's an independent now.

He was making his way around the room and he finally came to me and my coworkers.  He turned to me and looked up... remember he's short.. and said, "What do you do?"

I said, proudly, "I'm a lawyer!"

At the time, I was proud. I wasn't earning much by any stretch of the imagination.  But I was still a believer.  My beliefs that being a good lawyer weren't stemming from my situation at the time. I was struggling to pay my bills. My student loans were crippling on my salary.  But my boss had done a good job convincing me that I had a bright future in this. Moreover, I really enjoyed my work.  At the time, I was a court running attorney. I did trials and depositions and felt like a real lawyer.  Sometimes my cases were high end and other times, I would be elbow to elbow with poverty in Landlord/Tenant court.  But it kept me on my toes and it was damn fun.  This was my state of mind.

Mayor Bloomberg answered, with a stone sober face, "I'm sorry."

I actually got defensive and said, "I enjoy being a lawyer!"

Mayor Bloomberg shook his head and moved on to the next person.

What a dummy I was.  That is why he's Dictator Bloomberg of New York City and I'm nobody.