Brush with the Famous - Grassley

Senator Charles Grassley -
Iowa.  (Internet image)

This is the first of occasional blogs about the famous and near famous I've met through the years.

My brush with the famous came during my career as a reporter.  I wasn't seeking fame, I was after a story.  During my first post-college job in Osceola, Iowa at KJJC where I was news director - one time it meant interviewing United States Senator Charles Grassley.

Judicial Committee Chair now in the United States Senate, Grassley is in charge of the contentious hearing for Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanagh.

I spent 45 minutes with the Senator in a small car driving across southern Iowa.

An aide drove.  The Senator sat in the front passenger seat of the small car while I was in back holding on to the microphone into which I spoke and then held near the Senator for his response.  It was a "live on tape" interview for my half-hour public affairs show that aired Sunday mornings.

I worked at KJJC 1985 - 86.  My
business card indicates we played
country music.  (dwm photo)

At the time (1985) he was nearing the end of his first term in the U. S. Senate after sixteen years in the U.S. House.  Iowans elected him six more times the last time in 2016 when he was 83.  It is his seventh term.

What I remember was a direct, no-nonsense manner.  He answered my questions, I got my interview, and when the interview ended, his car pulled in for his next meeting with constituents in Clarke County, Iowa.

I am sure I didn't ask how long he wanted to serve in the Senate.  I am also sure he never imagined still serving in 2018.