A Congressman Spends a Day in Uniform
Woo- hoo! Who's that cute guy in the UPS uniform? Rep. John Lewis, who hasn't exposed his legs for . . . well, decades. "Most people have never , ever seen me in shorts," Lewis said with a laugh. "Some people said I had nice legs."
The Georgia Democrat donned the trademark brown shirt, shorts and hat two weeks ago because the company's hub sits in his Atlanta district. Lewis stopped by headquarters to schmooze with employees, then changed into the uniform for his stint as a delivery man. Accompanied by a UPS driver at the wheel, Lewis jumped out of the truck and raced into office buildings -- where he got plenty of double takes: "Wait a minute! Are you John Lewis?"
The civil rights leader/politician has lived in Atlanta for four decades, two of them as a congressman, so many people recognized his face or that distinctive voice. Lewis posed for a few pictures with office staffers on the route, but kept on schedule and delivered all the morning packages by 10:15 a.m. "I was good," he said. "I didn't want to slow things down."
Hey, staffers! Your boss donning any uncharacteristic garb? Taking an odd field trip this summer? Share the photos at realiablesource@washpost.com .
One Tough Presidential Run
Poor Teddy Roosevelt: It's baseball's All-Star break -- traditionally at the middle of the season -- and the Nationals' foam-head mascot still hasn't won a single Presidents Race, the silly mascots' competition held at every home game. Abe Lincoln has 29 wins this year, George Washington10 and Thomas Jefferson10 . . . but zip for TR. "It's not that Teddy's bad," team president Stan Kasten told us. "It's just that the other presidents are so good. Abe in particular is having a great year."
Abe tops the lifetime scoreboard with 65 victories, followed by George with 51 and Tom with 49. Teddy typically takes the lead in the fourth-inning sprint but loses after tripping on a banana, getting attacked by a panther or being disqualified for cheating. (It's the Nats' version of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote: The fun is not if Teddy fails, but how outrageously.)
Die-hard fans launched a "Let Teddy Win" campaign to no avail; his only victory was a one-on-one grudge match last month with Baltimore Orioles' Bird. Gloated Kasten: "We see that Teddy has no problem handily beating other mascots."
HEY, ISN'T THAT . . . ?
· "Top Chef" winner Stephanie Izard walking down 15th Street yesterday afternoon with top-four finalist Antonia Lofaso, both casually dressed (i.e., no toques), seemed friendly, didn't mind a fan calling them "Hey, Top Chef!" instead of by their names. Both were in town for last night's opening party of fellow contestant Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill. (Finalist Lisa Fernandes was also expected.)
THIS JUST IN . . .
· Michelle Obama accepted an invitation to become an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's first black sorority, whose members are gathering in Washington this week to celebrate the organization's centennial. (Oooh, you hear that, Deltas?) AKA President Barbara McKinzie said Obama's induction has not yet been scheduled.
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"Dark chocolate. I love chocolate. I love chocolate ice cream. I love chocolate candy. The darker the better. . . One of the things I do each day is take my bubble bath with my book and my chocolate candy. All day, I know that by night I'm going to be doing my crossword puzzles or reading a book, soaking in the tub, eating my chocolate."
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the August issue of Harper's Bazaar. Apparently, she likes chocolate.


