I had never seen a whole staff silenced and invalidated, this way, until now. I was shocked by my childhood hero, but I still believed she was fighting a good fight and God had sent me to The Hill to help her.

“Let’s grab a cup of coffee. I’ll show you where the cafeterias are,” Octavia said when we left The Senator’s office.

The halls were bustling with large groups of people, some wearing tee-shirts with slogans. Congressmen and women rushed through the corridors as their staffers scribbled notes, or read to them from documents, while keeping pace.

“Oh. Here we go. We can get a free cup of jo right here,” Octavia said, pulling me into a hearing room where a reception was being held.

“That’s another perk,” she said. “Some days you won’t have to spend a dime. Dip into a couple of receptions and a luncheon and you’ll be fed.”

“Not enough perks for you to stay,” I said.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I respect Madame Senator. She’s a bad-ass, and I like that. She’s time enough for these sons-of-bitches. But nobody’s going to talk to me like some shit,” she said. “I don’t talk to my son the way she talks to staff.”

“Guess I better keep my distance,” I said.

“You find what works for you,” she said.

“But, isn’t it kind of exciting working where you can actually make something happen?” I said. “Especially now that we’re about to elect our first Black president. Here we are working for one of our own who helped pave the way.”

1. There are always perks to be enjoyed. What are some of the extra joys and delights in your current job (including the job of working on your college degree or raising your family or caregiving for your parents?)
2. Why do you enjoy these perks? (For instance, I love free food because it reminds me that God gives us abundance in many ways.)
3. Describe some perks you would like to enjoy in the future.