Picture this. Washington, DC. 2015. Some of you will get that reference. I’m at a leadership conference and we’re going to be served breakfast. As I sit down at my table, I reach for my napkin to place in my lap and that’s when I notice – it’s not there. That’s because the woman next to me grabbed the wrong napkin, throwing off the balance of the table.

Flash back to last fall, and I’m at a luncheon culminating the end of a seven month political leadership program. After the main course which included pasta with vodka sauce, an acquaintance sitting next to me begins to clean his fork with his white napkin. As I noticed the napkin become more and more soiled, orange in color, and visible to all at the table, I whisper to him, “What are you doing?” He says that he is preparing for his dessert. I subtly point out his dessert fork that’s already on the table and he says, “Ohhh, thanks!” Then he places his orange-soiled napkin and his used dinner fork on the table. (Click here to continue reading…)