Ah, September. Finally, we’re turning the corner away from the heat of the summer. When that first slight chill hits in the fall, I am each year reminded of how that feeling – that smell – used to signal the beginning of another year in college. Perhaps, this new semester I’ll actually buy all the books for my classes, begin to study earlier than the night before the exam, even raise my C-plus average to something closer to a B-minus. Yes, September has always been a chance to reflect on past shameful shortcomings and to commit to doing what I should have been doing all along. I wonder if others feel the same way? Does the administration regret waiting 15 months to nominate new Board members at MSPB, where the number of pending cases is now around 1,750? Does the Senate sniff the fall air and commit to voting on the new nominees who zipped through their confirmation hearing many weeks ago and have been stalled ever since? Will OPM finally comply with the law (the freaking federal LAW!) that requires it to issue life-saving Notice Leave regulations by LAST SEPTEMBER? Although I was a mediocre college student, I remained hopeful at the beginning of each school year that I would get better, that I would stop frittering away Daddy’s money, and put my efforts into doing what I should have been doing all along. Perhaps, as well, some of our leaders in government will notice what month it is on the calendar, feel a little shame like I used to, and start to do a better job. A 2.5 grade-point average might have been good enough to get me through LSU, but that is not really a good enough score for managing our civil service. By the way, 2.5 was not only my grade-point, but for most of my undergraduate days it was also my blood alcohol level. Yes, the best four years of my life I spent as a sophomore at LSU. I hope that our civil service leadership is at least having as much fun as I did, because it’s just about as effective.
