I Like People Who've Been Knocked to the Floor

I like people who've been knocked to the floor but got up, who know what it's like to do something that deserves a medal but instead gets a reprimand, who crack a small smile when listening to the latest program from on high, and who know more about - and care more about - the job than any five of the wizards promoted last year. I like the mavericks and eccentrics and the weirdos whose eyes light up when talking about how they had to cobble together a solution at the last minute or how they noodled over a problem for years before finding a new way. I like their passion and their lack of pretense and that they think you're interested about some arcane aspect of the job only a person who loves the job might find fascinating. I like their refusal to become cookie-cutter personalities and to "dress for success." I like the fact that they like facts and, although they can theorize as well as any of us, they know the difference between theory and reality. I like their bluntness and their way of looking you in the eye and that they have scars, many scars, some of which may be visible, from battles won and lost.