On The Road With Danny Concannon '04-'05: St. Louis, MO
"Running on Empty"
Companion Piece: In This Room
THE NEXT NIGHT:Lambert International Airport
Danny sat in the airport terminal, his bags under his chair, deep in thought. The night before had left him disheveled, haggard, and war-torn to the world. It was taking all his energy to keep awake, to keep going. Emotionally and physically he felt like he was on his last legs. The bags under his eyes matched the luggage under his chair and yet he journeyed on. His tired eyes, they were the same blue eyes that were the last window into the true man he was and not the lump of clay he had become.
Danny pulled his wallet out of his pocket and took out a small white business card. He held each end of the card with both hands. Leaning in toward the card, he looked at Abbey Jacobs's name written in block letters with the word "psychiatrist" written underneath it. Danny looked up again, this time taking note of the television set flashing Bartlet and his staff as they boarded Air Force one that afternoon, for the china trip.
"It must be killing you to be away." A man, sitting next to Danny in the airport, dressed in a rumpled trench coat and looking well-traveled, questioned him.
"I'm sorry?" Danny looked away from the television set and at the man next to him.
"Being away from Washington——with all that's goin' on?" Danny looked at the man wondering if he knew him. "I'm sorry—" He extended his hand. "I'm Matt Wick, from the DC area." Danny put the card back in his wallet and extended his hand. "You're Daniel Concannon—well, everyone calls you Danny—well, the Press Secretary does---sorry, I watch a lot of CSpan—recognized you right away—" Danny shook the man's hand. "Although I haven't seen you around the Press Room much since they found Zoey Bartlet."
"Yeah, I've been on assignment---nice to meet you." Danny nodded and set his head into a resting position against the back of the chair slumping back in his seat. Danny wasn't in too much of a mood to talk, but he was always polite.
"Nice detective work on that one by the way---I mean the whole Shariff thing—well, it won the Pulitzer—"
"Yeah," Danny laughed. "I wouldn't call it detective work---just my job." Danny moved his eyeballs toward the man at his right.
"So, what brings you to these parts---I do a lot of business here myself. You here for a story?"
"Yeah, thought I was." He laughed. "Got kinda stood up."
"Oh." The man didn't quite get it. "You writing anything new—books, I mean---I heard about that book---good buzz—been meaning to pick it up—always looking for a good flight book."
"Sorry---I don't have any copies with me--"
"No, No I wasn't asking for—" The man put his hands up to be sure Danny knew he wasn't fishing. "What do you think we're gonna do?" he motioned his head toward the television.
"About what?"
"About it all, Gaza-China—Korea?"
"Who knows?" He laughed.
"But you have your ideas—come on, you know Bartlet better than anyone in that room other than CJ. Cregg."
"CJ Cregg's not in that room anymore." He looked up at the TV and happened to get a clip of CJ. "She's in a whole different room."
"Yeah, I always forget—I mean not that she's the chief of staff—I just mean—they run so many of those deputies---going in and out of that room it's hard to keep track—I mean other then Toby Ziegler and that blonde chick. I got a thing for blondes."
"Annabeth Schott."
"Who?"
"The blonde."
"Well, none of them are as memorable as CJ Cregg."
"Yeah." He still looked at Ken. "I agree with that." He smirked and looked back at the TV, folding his hands, in front of him.
"I just get worried. First Gaza---now China."
"It's just a summit—they have those things all the time—well every few years."
"I just know what it's like to know your days are numbered. I had a cancer scare a while back and I see that same look in his eyes—that, "this may be my last chance thing." I'm not sayin' I think he's gonna croak anytime soon—I knew this guy had M.S. ---went years without symptoms. I just don't know what he's thinkin'…and that kind of scares me. Like he feels he needs to prove something since he's out in a year."
"Well, Bartlet is a man of words—I'm sure he's tryin' to figure out what he can say to save the world." He laughed.
"President as Superman?" The man laughed.
"Yeah," Danny laughed. "Only Superman's figuring out he's really only human."
"Yeah." The man nodded his head. "So who do ya think's gonna get the nomination?"
"Republican—I don't know—some people are really pushin' for Walken—I don't see it. Democratic—Baker's got it."
"Baker hasn't even announced yet."
"He will."
"How you so sure about that?"
"See, there are two things in life that are 100 percent predictable—One." He put up his finger. "Politicians. And two." He put up his second finger. "Politicians." He paused and laughed a little. "Now politics, that's the unknown variable sometimes—but it's old hat in Washington and people fall into lines and graphs and each action brings about the same reaction—the same thing. Maybe I just see it 'cause I know what I'm looking for—like when an astronomer looks up at the heavens-- he connects the stars into pictures and planets—but all I see are dots. I know how to connect the dots. He's running."
"You didn't seem so cynical when you wrote about Bartlet on his campaign."
"Yeah, well, not everyone's a Bartlet. I don't think we'll see another Bartlet for a long time."
"After everything, you're still a fan?"
"After everything—yeah. . ." Danny trailed off. "I guess I'm still a fan. He may have faults, but he had—has this idealism I don't think we'll see again---not for a while. He's almost a fairy tale."
"When ya think we'll know that?"
"I'm sorry?"
"When will we know he's come."
"You mean the second coming?" Danny laughed. "I don't know I guess we'll know when we see it—but Baker's for sure the best man we got—it'll be a good choice. —."
Danny looked up at the TV and saw something that caught his eye. His face gave a "huh?" look as he saw Eric Baker on the television set.
"No..." Danny stood.
"What?" The man asked.
With his mouth open, Danny stood and walked closer to the TV as he focused in on the Governor's speech. "This is unbelievable." Danny spoke to himself and put his hands in his pocket.
"He's not running—he was the front runner, right?" The man asked, having come up behind Danny.
"Yeah."
"Wow…." He paused. "Just goes to show ya—the path isn't as predictable as we think."
"Bingo." Danny said with disdain and bit of irony.
To Be Continued…..