Have you ever done something really, really stupid at the office? Or work- related? Something so dumb, so bad, so off the wall that it’s a miracle you still have a job. And aren’t maybe doing time?

Put it another way:

When is the last time you, yourself, or your brother-in-law, did something really, really stupid at the office? Actually, not “if” but how many times? That probably covers many, maybe most, of us. The bottom line is that whatever your past office-sin back in the day, the bar has been raised. If you want to put your foot in your mouth, or somewhere else, big time, you are going to have to work very hard to top what happened here Monday. It was a different sort of day of infamy. What happened is this:

A man, a federal civil servant, an employee of an intelligence agency, went up on the roof of his downtown building to show a lady friend how his 24-inch drone worked. So far, so good.

Some alcohol, as you may have surmised, was involved. Facts are still coming in. But from what we think we know so far …

The drone took off into the night. It was a 2-foot-by-2-foot quadcopter officially known as the DJI Phantom. So far, so good. Except for the fact that it was 3 a.m. And some of his neighbors can be testy. Cut to the chase …

Shortly after launch, the pilot lost contact with the borrowed drone. That’s bad. But even worse is where it landed. It landed just down the street at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. It’s current occupants, Barack and Michelle Obama have been there for about six years. Nice folks. They moved here from Chicago.

The very unlucky feds’ drone landed on the White House lawn, people!

POTUS and Mrs. POTUS were out of town at the time. But all things being equal, it was still a problem. Bad timing for sure. Nobody is happy.

The man — it is premature to call him a former fed? — texted some friends (what else do you do when you launch and lose a drone near the White House) then went to bed. In the a.m., he discovered that a mystery drone had landed on the White House lawn. He must have figured what are the odds it could be SOMEBODY ELSE”s drone. So he called the Secret Service and checked in, “self-reported” is the term they used, at his office.

Bottom line is that whatever social error any of us has committed at the office pales in comparison to this. Doesn’t it?

Or can you top this?

If you’ve got a personal shame story, about yourself or a coworker, pass it along. We won’t use any names, but letting the world know might take some of the heat, and guilt, off some of us.

So, if you have a “Holy-You-Know-What” moment, recent or from yesteryear, let me know. Can’t wait: mcausey@federalnewsradio.com.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

By Michael O’Connell

The Drones Club was the name of the gentlemen’s club in P.G. Wodehouse’s comic novels. Bertie Wooster, whose valet was Jeeves, was a member of the club.

Source: Wikipedia

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