… At least not in Uptown.
See, I was invited by a publicist to a press event at an Uptown gallery — oh, let’s call it a “foundation” for the hell of it — to preview an art exhibit by a famous gay painter. The event was scheduled for today in the middle of my workday (which is also when the paper has to go to the printer: 1 p.m.), which made it kinda inconvenient, but the opening deserved to be covered. And anyway, I reasoned, there was a benefit — and I’m reading directly from the invitation here — “A light lunch will be served.”
Now my day doesn’t revolve around who gives me lunch, but when I’m rushing to get the paper out by noon so I can get to a 1 p.m. event, finding lunch waiting for me is a great relief and time-saver. It can save me woofing down McDonald’s on the car on my way there and means I might actually have energy at the end of long week to get the interview done and done well. And I, as a bright-eyed and trusting journalist, assume people keep their word.
When will I learn?
There was no lunch, light or else. Not even the offer of a cup of water. And never — never — an apology or explanation for why the lunch wasn’t around. The result? On the way back to my office, I ended up woofing down McDonald’s.
Look, I don’t care all that much about a sandwich from Jason’s Deli. But where is the courtesy and professionalism associated with actually doing what you say you will do? Those buzzards at the publicist’s office were either liars or incompents — there is no other alternative. Why would they want to be either? And more importantly, why would they want to broadcast to a journalist their untrustworthiness and/or incompetence? Don’t they know I have to blog about something today? Might as well be this.
Wow, they really messed with the wrong people. I would go ahead an publish their names (Goss/Michael “foundation” by chance?)
Wow. I would’ve totally called them on it when I got there. “Um, excuse me? Hi, there…um, I was wondering where the light lunch was cause I made an effort to make it to your event and skipped my lunch to do it.”
Was “A light lunch will be served” in quotes?
The person in charge could say, “Well, light, as in – as light as air. Air, as in nothing. So, you get nothing.”
How about an asterisk before or after the sentence?
The asterisk could’ve read at the bottom of the invite: And by light lunch, we meant NO LUNCH. WE JUST WANTED YOU TO SHOW UP.
Do they know you’ve posted this blog?! I wanna know who they are as well as je does!
The Voice can do some wonky things too:
https://dallasvoice.com/instant-tea/2009/08/03/hot-tamales-live-at-house-of-blues-last-night/#comments
Someone really should go to White Rock and get a pic of Mr. Foundation emerging from the bushes, after a “light lunch”.