Black and Brown

When I was 35 to 37, I worked in Washington, D.C. in an unusual job. I was expected to make relationships with certain people in the Executive branch of the federal government; i.e., the DOE, the EPA, the DOS, etc. I was charged with spreading the good word on natural gas to the people who made the regulations to enforce the laws that Congress made. The higher the person was in the government hierarchy, the better. When I got there in 1979, the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 had recently been passed. This was the first federal natural gas act in forty years, and it fundamentally changed the way the natural gas industry worked in the United States.

At the time, El Paso Natural Gas Company was my employer, but they had selected me to work on loan assignment for the American Gas Association in a unique group of five or six other people, all of whom had been selected by their respective employers like I was. The group composition changed on occasion, because the members would join it maybe at different times and stay there one or two years (in my case, three). The members of the AGA were all gas pipeline companies and local gas distribution companies. Also, only AGA members could potentially nominate a person to serve in the group I was in. Consequently, all of us in the group knew something about the natural gas industry.

While in Washington, we worked in generally different areas. For example, Michelle might target the Department of Education, the CSPC, the Department of Health, and maybe a couple of other agencies, whereas Don or Geoff might aim at the Department of Interior, the FERC, the FCC, and the NTSB. I worked at getting to know the people at the Department of State and the Department of Commerce, the DOE and the EPA, the Pentagon, and the MSHA. The “boss” of our group was actually more of an advisor. He was a retired Colonel named Dallas, and he knew a lot about how the government worked. A great guy, but that’s another story.

It was a fun job, and everyone in the group felt important. We all got along great with each other. The full-time employees far outnumbered our small group, but we worked right along with them. The AGA has full-time Congressional lobbyists working for it, as well as people that analyze gas policy, gas economics, pending legislation that might affect the gas industry.

For about a year I had been trying to get an appointment with the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. I finally got one, and on that day, I really cleaned up. I got up early, and showered, shampooed, shaved real close, brushed my teeth extra well, combed my hair special, and got dressed in my best three-piece suit. When I got there for the appointment, I was led to a nice sitting-room, with a sofa and upholstered chairs, and a large glass coffee table. My adrenalin was spiking. I was going to knock the socks off this guy with my spiel on the natural gas industry. When the MSHA director came in, we sat down at his coffee table. His assistant served us something to drink, and we exchanged small talk for a few minutes. When it seemed like the right time, I reached down to get my briefcase with all the stuff I was going to show him.

And that was when I discovered that I had put on one black shoe and one brown shoe.