Faith and Coffee

I had breakfast this morning with Andrew Ackerman. He used to work at the Nation, just down the hall from me when I was at that Government Affairs place. He just got back from Thailand and is in town covering Newt and Condoleeza at some event at the Marriott.

He apologized for so much swearing in front of me (because I'm a Mormon). I just smiled. Wasn't sure what to say really, never am sure. I mean, I'm sort of used to it. Newspeople tend to swear like they need it to breathe. I swear. Not a lot. Rarely, actually. I'm a word person, afterall. I like to choose my words carefully; for effect. But swearing and being a Mormon, it's like when you go to a bar with friends and don't drink and they're like so why don't you drink and you say you're religious, your Mormon, and they kinda get weird and apologize for drinking, like they're offending you. I'm like "ya,I know where I am, and I know what people do here". Or maybe it's just incredible someone would go into a bar and not drink (of course this comes from a deeper conviction of something higher-which also branches out into an explanation of why I tend not to visit bars all that often). But I'm not the type to push it, my religion, on others. Not gonna freak out if someone has a different idea about how to live their own life.

Does that makes me a good or bad person, or a good or bad Mormon?

I mean, I know what I believe to be true. I know it. I know it by faith and beyond faith. Those, to me, are deep revelations of the spirit best shared through time and friendship, just as I would expect any good friend of mine to share with me. Anyhow, I'm better at show than tell. Don't get me wrong. It's absolutely true, but one must be ready to hear it. And I guess I just rely on the spirit to direct me on that one.

Andy and I ate at Starbucks. He had a double latte (another lifestyle division). I had the Starbucks version of an egg McMuffin. He's a Jewish kid from Massachusetts. Blue eyes, glasses. Not a bad looker. Paid for me, was nervous, rambled on about his irritable bowel syndrome, tried desperately to be funny, told me he'd like to visit me in Utah. He probably thinks he sounded like an idiot, but it was all really cute.

In any case, he's definitely a good contact for the future (both career-wise and as a friend).

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