The congressman, the salamander, and me

why the midterm elections won’t change a thing

I landed my dream job. Producer, BBC Television. It was settled then, I was going to spend the rest of my life in England, working for the BBC. So when the head of programming summoned me to meet with him, I felt a little knot in my stomach. This, I thought, will be either very good for me, or very bad. I was right.

“Congratulations Winter,” he said after I was ushered in. “It’s a big job, but you’re smart, you work very hard, you’ve made quite a name for yourself. However there is one thing you should understand before you accept our offer.”

Here it comes.

“What’s that, Sir John?”

“The one thing you need to understand young man is that you are a New Zealand fellow. And that means, I regret to say, that there is only so far you can go here in Great Britain.”

Your first instinct when somebody says something like that to you is to belt them right in the middle of their florid, gin-lined face. But then it occurs to you that this gentleman has gone out of his way to do you a favor. He wants to make sure you fully understand the rules of the game. His bloody game. You are a colonial. There is only so far you will go here.