March 31, 2022

American Joe Week: “Dear Bruce, thanks for the juice!”

Home | People | American Joe Week: “Dear Bruce, thanks for the juice!”

Just prior to Session in the late 1980s, American Joe and a few friends, one of whom was well-known Maryland lobbyist Bruce Bereano, were on their way to a Washington football game. They stopped at a restaurant for breakfast on the way to the game, and American Joe (in the Maryland Senate at the time) was at one table and Bereano was at the other. The waitress came around to take everyone’s orders, and American Joe asked if the orange juice had pulp. The waitress said that yes, it did, it was fresh-squeezed orange juice. American Joe placed his order, blissfully unaware that someone had been listening to the whole exchange.

Days later, on the first day of Session, American Joe walks into his office in the Senate building in Annapolis. He opens the refrigerator and there are two gallons of orange juice (with pulp) sitting inside. They were from Bruce Bereano. In return, Joe sent him a note saying “Dear Bruce, thanks for the juice!” and, as legend goes, American Joe didn’t have to worry about his orange juice stock for a long while after.

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