Earlier this week I took the clerical exam for The City of Richmond, to see if I qualify to be an Administrative Aide for the Fire Department. Something about the pace of bureaucracy appeals to me, especially after twenty-plus years of working in Big Tech – where everything is hair-on-fire urgent. Although, I imagine things are pretty hectic when you work with first responders, even at the desk, so to speak, so I’m probably delusional on that front.

This sentiment, “Good enough for Government work” is truly offensive to those who’ve spent their lives working as civil servants, but in my career I’ve heard it tossed around by many a high paid civilian consultant.

It reminds me of the refrain we’d use as military dependents, living on the peace-keeping, mixed-forces US Command base Patch Barracks in Vaihingen, West Germany, mid-1980s: If someone wanted your opinion, say, like “Do these pants look good?” and maybe you wanted to offer a slight, you’d say “Sure they do! If you’re in the Army.” This was insulting because our dads were Air Force, or better yet, a few were Marines. (like mine) Nowadays, when I meet a service member, regardless of which force they’ve been in, I do say

Thank You For Your Service.

IMHO: what everyone should say to those who serve their country, even if you take a knee during the anthem.

And I really do mean it. It’s not easy being part of a big machine, one that has so much history and political complexity, and, let’s face it, inefficiency, all in the name of “readiness.”

Who knows if I’ll get the call to be a civil servant, there were at least forty other people taking the test for the same position, and surely many of us qualified. But always the ever-curious, I couldn’t get over how nervous I was about the exam itself. When I completed, and was texting a friend on my walk home, she asked how I did.