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Biden Calls Wife of Brooklyn Bridge Inspector for Kicks
By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 3, 2010
Modified Jun 3, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jun 3, 2010
Modified Jun 3, 2010
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Joe Biden likes to work hard/play hard. When he's not spiking the White House eggnog or washing his Trans Am in the White House driveway, he's out there appearing in photo ops at scenic locales like the Brooklyn Bridge, where he surfaced yesterday to publicize the Recovery Act funds that are being used to rehab the bridge. But just because it was a boring "official" appearance doesn't mean Amtrak Joe couldn't have little fun.
When Tom Shepherd, a chief inspector on the Brooklyn Bridge rehab project, left for work yesterday, he jokingly told his wife he'd tell Biden she said hello. And when Shepherd got the opportunity to stand around with the V.P. and shoot the breeze, he mentioned the earlier aside to his wife. That's when Biden got that mischievous twinkle in his eye and suggested he call her on his cellphone. (The Post photographer got a great shot of Biden calling her.)
"I'm Vice President Joe Biden. I'm here to make sure your husband isn't messing up the bridge," Shepherd's wife recalled Biden saying. "I was shocked," she tells the Post. "If he didn't have such a distinctive voice, I would have thought Tom was messing with me." No, Mrs. Shepherd, that was just our Vice President messing with you. If we ever get the opportunity to meet this guy, we are so making him record our outgoing voicemail message: "Hiya pal, I can't pick up right now 'cuz I'm too busy chasin' tail and crashin' dirt bikes, but you know the drill, leave a message for me and the NSA at the beep. And if this is Barry, I'll have that fifty bucks you loaned me as soon as I get back from the track."
Tagged
Amtrak Joe
brooklyn bridge
joe biden
rehab
vice president joe biden
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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