A Conspiracy of Jews

8/2/05 Washington, D.C.

Interview with Bob Boilen, and Jerry terHorst

Our meeting with Bob Boilen, director of All Things Considered and All Songs Considered, was set up for 2:00 in the pm so we had a bit of time to tool around the capitol. Of course, it develops that it takes half an hour at least to get from one place to another in the District, even if it looks like it’s just across the street. Something about confusing and thereby stymieing any potential invaders… So after riding the metro into town, walking down the mall and inquiring at the National Gallery of Art about the giant shrine made completely from tin foil it was already time to grab a bite to eat on our way to NPR. It was a bit disappointing because the shrine wasn’t actually at the National Gallery of Art anyway, and the building that housed it was closed for renovations. We had a bit of that feeling like one can only imagine Mario felt after discovering that the princess was in another castle. Poo face.

Bob came out to meet us once we got to NPR and though I generally have no appreciation for celebrity, I couldn’t help but get giddy about meeting Bob Boilen. I mean, this was Bob Boilen. How many nights had I tempted the fates by listening to that classic NPR voice late at night while trying to stay awake and write papers? And here he was, only completely welcoming and, well, interactive. He gave us a great tour of the place and after his great words of wisdom (he started early in his career with music, at one point putting together a piece that was using state-of-the-art synthesizers to summarize the whole of music from the beginning of time till the end of time) we got to see a live taping of All Things Considered. I don’t know how I was able to sleep that night after all that adrenaline pumping from walking around NPR - perhaps better known by writer David Sedaris’ characterization as “a conspiracy of jews.” Let’s take a moment and reflect on our own favorite NPR moments. Ahh…

Well, after we left NPR we drove back to Alexandria and made our way to Jerry terHorst’s home. Mr. terHorst was, among many other jobs in the press, press secretary for Gerald Ford, but resigned shortly after Nixon was pardoned. A short tour, but an interesting fellow nonetheless. It was great to have the balancing perspective of this guy who’d accomplished such a great deal with his life and was happily slowing down to retire.

The main message I took from Boilen and terHorst is to watch out for Guardian Angels. The folks that are the shakers or guides in our lives that provide a surprising amount of aid or encouragement to push beyond what was previously possible or outside the realm of possibility. Unfortunately our camera battery died shortly after sitting down with terHorst, we had no time to recharge after leaving Boilen’s office. But he told a story about a school teacher that stopped several times every week to talk about his life and ended up working out a scholarship for Mr. terHorst to go to journalism school.

We were pooped so we headed back to Gretchen and Tim’s apartment for some R+R for the next day’s bumming around town.