Richard A. Arenberg

"One image that pops into my head is my very first day on Capitol Hill. Paul Tsongas had just been elected to the House as a member of the 1974 “Watergate babies” class as they called them. He called us (Dennis Kanin who I’ve mentioned several times was there) into his new office and asked us to close the door. First he noted that this was the first time he had seen either of us–after a long Congressional election campaign–in suits.

 

Then he looked us in the eye, broke into a huge grin, shrugging his shoulders, he asked, “Isn’t this fun?”

I have thought of that day frequently as I served on the Hill over the years. I could always hear his words, “Isn’t this fun?”  

 

Yes, no matter how hard, how frustrating, how disappointing, how stressful it became at times, in the way Paul Tsongas meant, it was always fun."