Status at State

With a diplomatic wink the unofficial Foreign Service Journal last week gave its readers in the U.S. Foreign Service some hints on rating their State Department colleagues in Washington's Foggy Bottom. Items:

P: Eating at the cafeteria is OUT; eating at the Metropolitan Club is IN, but it is inconceivable to refer to it as the Metropolitan instead of The Club. P:Getting off the elevator at the fifth floor (where the Secretary of State's office is located) is IN; it does not matter if you work there.

P:Signing out is OUT; not signing out is IN.

P:Virginia Gentleman and Jack Daniels (Black Label) are IN; Scotch-type whisky, French-type wines, cheese-type spreads and lettuce-type salads are OUT. P: A 190 SL Mercedes-Benz is IN but not so far IN as a 1916 Fierce-Arrow; waving at another Mercedes is OUT. Wearing a checkered sports cap will get your parking permit canceled; wearing a Homburg will cause comment.

P:Yellow-lined tablet paper is IN; good drafting is on the way OUT; "upcoming," "orientation" and "challenging" should be OUT; split infinitives are with us. P:Air-cooled shoes are OUT; the Waltz Club is IN. Ulcers are IN; bachelors are often IN.

P:A key to the secretary's private elevator is much farther IN than one from Phi Beta and Kappa.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.