Did He Just Compare Himself To Frank Pembleton?

After loving the Homicide book, I recently started watching the Homicide series on DVD. Frank Pembleton immediately reminded me of somebody - he reminded me of me, back when I had a real job in Corporate America.

Oh sure, he's black, I'm white. He's incredibly handsome, I'm dopey looking. He's articulate, I have a North Dakota accent so thick that was asked in 1996 if I adopted it after watching Fargo. He dresses well, when I had to wear a tie my fashions were from JC Penney. He invesitagates murders and interrogates suspects, I processed applications for payment and withheld payments to subcontractors over lien waivers. So what's the similarity, other than that he listens to Emmylou Harris and I once bought an Emmylou Harris LP mostly so that I could gaze at the album cover?

It's that Pembleton is accused of not being a team player; instead brilliantly going his own way with his work and shunning social contact with his colleagues. I also had the "team" bullshit thrown in my face (a top three Tuomala wisecrack ever at that job: "I'm too good to play on the junior varsity") (thanks to Turk for the line) and shunned social events with my coworkers (at least the accounting ones.)

It's probably a good thing I didn't watch this show when I had that job as I would have likely adopted some Pembleton mannerisms - like become a sharp dresser and start smoking cigarettes. I would have been out some serious dough and would now have a hacking cough.

Please send no series spoilers my way ... but if Pembleton's fate is anything like mine, he'll be lied to and stabbed in the back by management. But keep going your own way, Frank.