[get here late?...take a step back]

So there I was…timidly grinning at the dozen or more gun-toting faces around me.

I looked at the Secret Service guy & basically said,

“You do your thing – I’ll do mine.”

I gave him the quick run-down of how many buses were coming, how many people would need to be swept and told him that I’d be down at the end of the road with the State Troopers flagging the buses where to turn in.

From there everything was simple – everything was easy.

I didn’t bother them & they let me stand in the middle of the road directing traffic, checking off my list & answering the random odd question.

When everyone was in & accounted for, I radioed ahead to let the boss know we were good as I walked back up the hill to the Secret Service group.

We shook hands, laughed things off & the next thing I knew, I was being pinned.

Pinned: As in lapel pin. See?…There it is.

While getting the Secret Service star was cool…I had no idea at the time just how cool it was. They didn’t make a big deal of it – so I didn’t make a big deal of it.

POTUS came & went, the event proceeded without a hitch or incident…well, there was that small food vendor tent fire after everyone had left, but it was contained in time and no one was hurt…and we all sang & cried during that last night’s fireworks display.

It was over. We did it. You could feel the collective sigh of relief from everyone.

But while the party was over - the clean-up was just beginning.

That night everyone got an extra hour or two of sleep & piled back in the next day…and I showed up wearing my pin.

One of the lighting guys walked past me, spotted it and said,

“Wow! I can’t believe you got that!”

Then another guy…and another guy…all for some reason completely impressed & asking me if I’d like to trade the pin.

And then I ran into the stage crew manager (typical roadie – think near waist-long pony-tail, gravelly voice, grimey t-shirt, gimme cap & the wafting scent of cigarette smoke). He had a big attitude to match his big swagger - although I stood close to a foot taller than him.

He broke into attention-grabbing shouts of,

“That’s not *@^#  fair! How the &*#%A@ hell did you get that?!…You’re just a &%#$@ rookie! I’ve been in this *&#^%@ business close to twenty @%#*% years! I know everybody & I don’t even have one! &#%$@!”

Needless to say, I didn’t give it up.

I kept the pin & eventually I was told that “they don’t give those out to just anyone” and “you had to do something big to get a pin”.

[now whether this is true or not, I don't know - but all the production guys definitely thought so]

So I told you that big, long story to tell you this one.

Fast forward to today…well, a few weeks ago actually…and I get an email – an email from one of the higher-up event production staff that I worked alongside.

[ahem]

‘Howdy Jennifer,

Long time, huh? How the heck are you?

Here’s why I’m writing…You remember that star pin the USSS gave you after Jamestown? Think you still have it?

I do SO many events here in DC with Senators, Congressmen, Supreme Court Justices, Members of the Cabinet, and of course, heads-of-state. I’m constantly interacting with the USSS, and man, that pin would make my life so much easier. So much so, that I’d be willing to PAY you for it! 

Soooo, does $50 sound good… I could go as high as $100!  If it’s just sitting in a drawer or on a desk… pretty please??  What do you think?

[I'll give you a moment]

………..

[through laughing yet?]

………..

[ok, another moment]

So here’s my initial thoughts on the whole request:

1) This person was probably working a high-end event and insulted the Secret Service because a request got turned down…or,

2) This person was tired of getting the run-around from the Secret Service and other security groups & decided if they could just get their hands on a pin, they would be taken seriously…or,

3) Alcohol was involved at the time it was written.

But here’s my formal response:

[ahem]

Do I look stupid?

Do I come across as some wide-eyed, know-nothing who would jump at the chance to get “up to $100″?

No, I’m not stupid.

And whether or not this pin has any DC street cred, it’s mine. I earned it.

Did I do anything spectacular to get it?…No.

So what – I still earned it. Go earn your own.

And oh yeah…

…you should know better.

[take that 'should' & shove it where the sun don't shine]