I Met the Governor of Oregon

Last week I had the opportunity to meet the Governor of Oregon, Kate Brown. I was invited to a small party held at an incredible house in Portland. Now, let's be brutally honest. I met her for all of like one minute. It didn't change my life. It was another interesting experience in a life full of them. She was likewise unchanged, and I'm sure has forgotten me.

I think what's most interesting about this experience though is how incredibly out of place I felt. I'm lower management in a relatively small company nobody has heard of. I'm not a minority in any sense but as vanilla white male as they come. Other than chatting with a former co-worker for a few minutes, I conversed more and enjoyed talking with the valet than anyone else. We talked about the weather, politics, things we'd learned, and how neither of us felt like we belonged at the party--he as the help and me as the odd guest there to slush government a little.

Nobody was unwelcoming by any means. There was no scrutiny over my contribution to the governor's campaign, but there was just a feeling there that I wasn't really part of that group. I'm not sure I really mind. I'm not overly into politics, I'm not liberal, I'm from a quiet part of Salem and adhere to religious beliefs that aren't popular in today's circles of society.

Still, I can say I met the governor.