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Usually when you walk down the hallways of any state capitol building, it’s visually monotonous and encompasses the background noise of a thousand computer keys being tapped at with draining boredom. A few representatives will shuffle hurriedly past, chatting away in tones I don’t understand and have no desire to. As I was wandering through the Capitol of Texas last week, that was the setting. It was a thousand times more despairing than even the cubicle factories that most office buildings contain. And then a glowing ice cream cone caught the corner of my eye. Upon further inspection, it turned out to be the inside of an old-fashioned soda shop, that just so happened to double as the office of a representative out of El Paso.
He is Joe Pickett: democrat, transportation chair, real estate educator, father of four, and a classic car collector. Pickett grew up working in a family-owned ice cream shop, and he recently wrote a children’s book called Margo the Weird Cat. I found all of this out after I left the building, which made me even more intrigued. And so a few days later, dressed as nicely as my wardrobe could manage without turning me into a downtown hussie, I went back to the Capitol, needing to see the entirety of Joe Pickett’s soda shop office with my own eyes.
When I entered the office, there was a secretary taking care of business at her desk, while a couple of gents decked out in western wear were having coffee with a suit who was on the phone the entirety of my time in the office. The secretary and I got to talking soon after, and I was offered a soda and my choice of either ice cream sandwich or Crunch bar. She offered these to me before I’d even told her why I was there. Apparently, everyone who walks into Joe Pickett’s office gets candy and a soda, no matter why they’re there. That’s just the way Joe Pickett rolls.
Joe (call him Joe, they insist) apparently took up this décor six years ago (he’s been a rep for nearly 15 years) and has added something new to kick off each session since then. This year, the additions were a couple of slot machines and 5-by-4 foot for S & H Green Stamps. I’ve never heard of those, so they must be really old. The office has become somewhat of a respite for some of the workers at the Capitol, as well as for many of its regular visitors. I was not taken aback by my usual intimidation at the sight of orderly office folk. Rather, I moseyed in there and tried to start a conversation with the western gentlemen. It didn’t prove very fruitful, as they were pretty enrapt in silently enjoying their coffee. I asked one of the workers if this homey effect made it harder to maintain a professional mindset. Really, it seemed as though the only time it made any difference was when they would be working until 11 or 12 at night and people would come through on a tour after dinner. To attempt to match the excitement of those wanderers after 10+ hours of actual work must be a job in itself. But the western men barely gave me any answers. They just remained seated, silently smiling while they took in the beatific soda shop splendor that surrounded them. The office just exudes coziness, and so their quiet pleasure was more than a little understandable. I left them alone, and began marveling at the office’s charms in a silence all my own.
All in all, for my twenty-minute visit (complete with an ice cream sandwich and two Cokes) I felt like I was welcomed with open arms. And despite working long days full of all sorts of fucked up political bullshit, the people of Joe Pickett’s office keep their spirits up and brighten those hallways full of crippling dread with their tiny little pick-me-ups for all who pop in for a brief visit.