Not My America
Among the benefits of getting shot (and yes, there have been benefits) are the connections I've made with people I would never have encountered otherwise - news people. It started with Amanda, your friend at the Associated Press. She started every conversation that way. It made me smile. She was writing the first draft of American history, and she wanted to get the facts straight. Then there was Brian Williams, now semi-disgraced for embellishing a story but then very much in high esteem. He was genuinely interested in us, in how we came to be the people we are, how the shooting dented that construction. His questions opened new ways to think about The Event. And then there was Sarah Garrecht Gassen. She waylaid me in the hallway outside one of the first court hearings, identifying herself as a stringer for the New York Times. Since the NYT had just printed an error filled article (starting with misstating my age) ...