As I Type It: Our Ancient Intern Hobart Meade

December 2, 2011

I would like to take this opportunity to announce the retirement of Hobart Meade, HowdyLand’s longest-serving intern. At 92, Hobart has played many non-crucial roles here among the rambling office suites and interconnecting studios he has called his “second time-share.” Though he is nearly out the door, we hope to continue overlooking Hobart’s many contributions to The News From The Great Re-Depression for many years to come.

Having come through the Great Depression of the 1930s, Hobart soon became an indispensable sounding board within months of his arrival here from his previous internship in the break room at Netscape. When a story was pure crap, Hobart was always ready to look back upon his lifetime of unpaid employment and give our coverage the kind of authenticity we so often failed to summon from our focus groups, marketing people, and the Lehman Brother who mops our floors.

Indeed, we will miss the wide-ranging lack of expertise he brought to his non-job, not to mention all those whimsically eccentric mustaches he could apparently grow overnight. I am compelled here to note his many inspirational asides, like what he said just moments ago while handing over his keys: “Mr. Douglas,” he said. “Greatness lurks beneath your very shoes.”

You just can’t pay a man to say those kinds of things.