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Governor Rick Perry, the rehab table, and me

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5ksandcabernets: Governor Rick Perry, the rehab table, and me

5ksandcabernets

Monday, March 14, 2011

Governor Rick Perry, the rehab table, and me

The governor likes Brooks Launch.
As I was sitting on the rehab table preparing to get treatment for my pelvis/back issues, I spotted a familiar-looking person coming to take the table next to me.

He wore a baseball cap, gray shirts and gray shorts with black socks and a pair of Brooks Launch tennis shoes. (Only runners wear those shoes, I thought to myself).

Then the light bulb went off.

The Texas governor? Can't be. His hair was too messed up - way way way messed up - and he'd not shaved. This did not look like the slick-looking guy I've seen on TV.

And then, one of the attendants reached out to shake his hand.

"Hi, Governor," she said.

"How are you," Rick Perry replied.

"Oh, shit, I was just about to say 'You look like the governor,'|" I said in Perry's direction. (Yes, I cursed.) "What's your condition."

"I've got a pain in the butt," he laughed. "Seriously - I've got some back pain."

Perry laid down on the table as one of the attendants began work on him. He asked my name and what I was in for. I could see him kind of cringe when I said, "pelvis fracture." Then he asked me where I was from and what I did for a living. Knowing I was going to blog about this meeting, I figured it was time for full-disclosure: from my time as a Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter, I knew people who knew him. (I'd actually met Gov. Rick Perry once before. In 2003, when I was a metro reporter, the Star-Telegram sent me and a few other reporters to East Texas to cover the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Perry had come down and, among other things, thanked the locals and Red Cross for helping in the cleanup.)

I'm not sure why I thought it was important for Perry to know that I was once a newspaper reporter, though I guess once a journalist, always a journalist. And of one of the no-nos of journalism is not revealing your identity to the person you are interviewing.

Anyway, the conversation continued. He asked how many marathons I'd run (8) and he replied, "one for me was enough for me." (I didnt know if he meant he'd run one marathon or one half marathon.) We talked about South by Southwest and what's wrong with the newspaper business. He said he wished newspapers would not allow anonymous comments at the end of online stories, and he said places like where I currently work (Bankrate.com) have seemingly figured out how to make money on the internet these days.

Soon, we were both summoned to the traction tables. The attendants strapped us both in (on separate tables of course) and we continued our conversation, both of us on our stomachs staring face down talking through a donut hole.

We talked more about running - he said he really liked running in his Brooks Launch and was glad they changed the colors from orange; he said his back problems stem from a spinal condition he has had since he was a kid; and we talked about social media. And of course, Perry has been in the news lately for blocking six Texas journalists from following his posts at www.twitter.com/GovernorPerry.

I asked Perry if he'd received much criticism for blocking his twitter feed.

"Oh, I was just giving those guys a hard time," Perry laughed. "You know, the First Amendment cuts both ways."

And with that, Perry's time on the traction table was up. I told him he had a hard job and I didn't envy his position. He tapped me on the leg and said he'd had a nice visit.

I'll admit, I've not always agreed with Governor Perry's politics, but Rick Perry is a nice, personable guy.

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14 Comments:

Blogger Jason C. said...

Great post Kevin, really enjoy reading your blog. Nice to read about how the Governor is when he is not in front of a camera.

March 14, 2011 at 10:03 PM  
Blogger Kevin said...

Thanks, J... Guess if he has only done one (half) marathon, he probably won't be signing up for El Scorcho...

March 15, 2011 at 10:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No wonder you're not in journalism anymore. Some real hard-hitting questions there.

March 15, 2011 at 10:29 AM  
Anonymous SargeH said...

What a stupid comment. Why would you expect hard-hitting questions in a such a context?

March 15, 2011 at 11:02 AM  
Blogger Susan Schrock said...

How interesting. Thanks for sharing!

March 15, 2011 at 11:40 AM  
Anonymous Nels Jensen said...

Your sports clerk phone encounters with Mickey Mantle and Pete Rozelle, and the respective fallout, would make far more interesting reading.

March 15, 2011 at 11:59 AM  
Blogger Ginger and Jim said...

Great blog Kevin! Hope you are well... your little man has gotten so big.
--Ginger

March 15, 2011 at 12:47 PM  
Anonymous Brooks said...

Hey anonymous -

What, did you think the governor was going to spill his guts on the rehab table? Thank God YOU never became a journalist.

You're probably the same guy who slams journalists when you think they're being invasive, intrusive, inconsiderate, biased, boorish, disrespectful, and all those other things people like you seem to lay on reporters whenever we report something you don't like.

Typical.

Kevin did exactly what any professional, ethical journalist would have done in that situation - he respected the governor as a human being and got a little info out of him at the same time.

Next time Kevin wants to talk to the governor in a journalistic manner, if that ever happens, you can bet the governor will be receptive, because Kevin treated him with respect and dignity.

The governor is used to "hard hitting questions" - don't think you're being original on that one. What he's not used to being able to do is let his guard down.

This is something people like you wouldn't know anything about. I'd LOVE to see you gather the guts to do what journalists do.

So please. STFU.

March 15, 2011 at 1:05 PM  
Anonymous Brooks said...

Oh. And nice post, Kevin. :)

March 15, 2011 at 1:06 PM  
Blogger Andrea said...

You haven't lost your touch, Kev...Nice to see you blogged about this.

March 15, 2011 at 1:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You don't get to be Governor of Texas being a jackass to people. I'm ambivalent about the guy, Texas Governorship is a very weak position and we like our figureheads just that, figureheads, not dictators.

March 15, 2011 at 1:54 PM  
Blogger I am Ruth, Proverbs 31 Woman said...

I thought it was a great blog, Kevin. Way to go Brooks on slamming "Anonymous" who didn't even have the guts to say what he/she said and attach to a name!

March 15, 2011 at 7:37 PM  
Blogger Dave Lieber said...

Wonder what the coyote thought.

March 15, 2011 at 10:52 PM  
Blogger A Plain Observer said...

it's amazing when you take the executive out of the office, you actually get to know the person

March 16, 2011 at 8:28 PM  

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