Any Given Thursday

Chapter 5

Bill Graves was a surprisingly interesting man to interview. He didn't seem as neo-conservative in person as he did on paper. He had done nothing so far that would warrant abhorrence, or shame. In fact, he had been the model interviewee—intelligent, attentive, polite, and well spoken. Mr. Graves had understood all of her questions so far, and genuinely seemed interested in her study. Of course, the $50 interviewing fee was an added bonus. He was a retired farmer, and perhaps needed the extra income. Jobs were getting harder and harder to come by these days.

"With the risk of Social Security benefits fading, how do you feel about private accounts Mr. Graves? Do you feel that the Bush administration has done everything it can to save Social Security?"

Mr. Graves sucked his teeth, busily stroking a graying white beard. His shirt was white and pressed, and chinos were ironed perfectly with just the right amount of starch. The patches on his jacket were of the Confederate flag, and he made no attempt to hide his Southern pride. Celina ignored the flag, having seen many families wear it many times before. She had always believed that the flag was blatantly racist, and stood for, as well as perpetuated ignorant southern ideals. She could not however force the man to remove his jacket. During the course of the interview she had to constantly remind herself of the fact that she was dealing with real people, not the statistics that she often researched in class. This was the real world, and in the real world people disagreed with other people's personal beliefs. Still, she could not help but feel upset at seeing what she believed to be a racist and antagonistic emblem right in front of her face. Or maybe she was just being too sensitive. She had always been a little thin skinned when it came to racial matters.

"George Bush has done a wonderful job of securing our Social Security benefits. I don't believe that the well will run dry so to speak. You have to have faith in your president, and in your country. Besides, with the private accounts you can invest your money in stock market, and get a huge payload."

Celina wrote his answers verbatim, amazed at the man's blind faith in his president. Though she was supposed to be unbiased in her study (and she was) she was amazed at the fact that some of the conservatives could so easily put their faith in a person who, as yet had not lead or done anything of merit in her opinion. She looked to Jake, watching as he quizzed Mrs. Raji as if he were a harsh professor. They were merely supposed to ask questions, write a report based on the answers of those interviewed and draw their conclusions from the responses.

"Couldn't one argue Mr. Graves, that giving people the option of playing the stock market, which is never steady, a danger to their finances? When people lose all their money, couldn't they just as easily ask the government to bail them out of a tight financial jam? Forgive me if I sound skeptical sir, but can blind faith pay my medical bills when I become a Senior Citizen? Even if I were to invest my money into the stock market, would I not only be aiding the special interest groups that are in the pockets of the president?"

Mr. Graves appeared upset by her summation, and obviously didn't like her negative portrayal of his president. They both knew she had crossed a line when she allowed her objectivity to get in the way of the interview. Celina cleared her throat, wishing she could take back what was said, but it was on the table now. She turned off the tape player, effectively cutting off any rebuttal he had to offer. She placed her pen on the notebook before her.

"You can disregard that last question Mr. Graves. This is not a debate, but a study being conducted by the Kurgan Institute for which I and my associate are representing. I apologize for my outburst. May we please continue with the interview?"

Mr. Graves nodded, but not before giving her a skeptical stare. She felt like a failure. Already she managed to alienate her first interviewee! What kind of analyst would she make if she failed to be unbiased? She could just see it now… Jake would parade around like a boastful jerk because he had been able to keep cool, and she would be left twisting in the wind! Shaking her head of such negative thoughts, Celina pressed on. After the interview was over, she took down Mr. Graves' contact information and informed him that a check would be arriving in the mail in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Jake had already wrapped up his interview fifteen minutes ago and was waiting in the conference room of the Tillman Convention Center.