Humiliating

Years ago in the newspaper they used to publish these “man on the street” questionnaires, and I guess they still do, where a reporter would survey random people about an issue of the day. Once I remember they asked people about whatever the scandal du jour was and what impact it would have on the world. I don’t remember what the issue was. It had to be almost 30 years ago so it was probably something that happened during the Reagan or Bush administrations, something totally forgotten now. This woman said, “It means these are the end times and Jehovah is going to come and put an end to it.” This woman’s name was Condoleezza, a name I’d never heard before, since it’s not a terribly common name and Condoleezza Rice had yet to rise to prominence. Well, the world never did come to an end, despite all the prophecies and preachers telling us the apocalypse was nigh, despite the ancient calculations of the Mayans that fizzled out on a cold last shopping weekend before Christmas. I wonder if today Condoleezza ever thinks of that interview in the paper and is embarrassed that the world still stands intact. I wonder if that was the most humiliating thing that ever happened to her in her whole life.