At the Fair: "Things Happen"
So Meaghan and I spent the day at the Bronx Food and Arts Fair. The weather was lovely, the crowds were large and festive and the sales were... lousy. I don't know if the two or three other actual artists (as opposed to those selling junk -- t-shirts, key chains, balloons and other made in Tawain/China/Phillipines, non-Bronx made items) did very well, but Meaghan and I only sold one piece each. I sold the only blue/green print of my piece "Ceres the Goddess" to my good friend Anne Marie Barry and Meaghan sold a very interesting black/white sketch of a face to MaryAnn Johanson (who, at the moment, has the largest collection of Meaghan Black paintings). Meaghan pointed out that we could have sat on the corner near my house and done the same without spending $90 for a space at the fair.
Meaghan setting up her work
The day was pleasant enough, however. My parents came to the fair, bringing their dog, Bridget with them, stayed a short while and went back to my place. My Aunt May came and kept us company and enjoyed the show. Megan and Fursey -- a vital part of my parties and the Geek Gang -- arrived and stayed to help me take down the show (my lackey having gone off to a family function) and drive me home. I ran into an old friend of mine I hadn't seen in years and had a good time doing a quick catch up.
But the day was not all enjoyable or even pleasant. There were a lot of problems with the set-up, which has become a very disturbing trend these days. My directions from the BCA were that set-up for the vendors would be from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and that at 11:00 a.m. sharp, everything should be completely set up because the parade was to step off at 12:00 noon.
Since I didn't have a van or car that would have to be moved, and all my work was already pretty much prepared, MaryAnn, acting as my lackey, and I got down to the check-in at 10:00 a.m. I had a heck of a time finding the person who would give you the assigned spot, as she was in a regular SUV, without a flag or marking on it. Then, after some puzzlement as to the marking system, I got to my assigned spot:
and, actually, those two chairs weren't in my spot. I moved them over. MaryAnn, in her lackey capacity, went off to get food and drink. I waited. And waited. At 11:15, the guy finally came with the tent and the table for me to set up. He was nice enough but just gave a shrug and said, "Things happen." The parade? Didn't kick off until 1:30 p.m. But they were sure quick enough to come around at 6:00 and make sure everything was packed up and off the street.
"Things happen" is the default setting everywhere I go these days. At conventions, street fairs, art shows, the theatre, movie screenings, at home with my utilities and appliances... And usually no "thing" has happened. People are just late, or everything takes longer than you expect... it's not like the truck carrying the tents and tables was involved in some multi-vehicle accident; the head of the BCA didn't come down with dysentery... nothing happens except for an inability to plan in advance.
Now, I am the first to admit I'm usually running late. I hate getting ready to go places. I put stuff off until the last minute, or else get involved in projects that take me longer than I think they will. The result is, if the bus is running a bit ahead of schedule, if there's a slowdown on the trains, if I miss that light, I'm late. But... and here's the big BUT... I do not shrug it off and say "things happen." I'm late, or ill-prepared, or have no concept of time.
I once belonged to a not-for-profit theatre company. We all had full-time jobs, we were all short on time, money and sleep, but we didn't start the show late because "things happened." We started at 8:05 promptly; we tried our best to be professional and courteous and respectful of the time of not only our guests, but our actors and tech staff. Now, it seems "things happen." Shrug. Power outages that Con Edison can't control?** "Things happen." Shrug. Your cable modem refuses to connect -- for 2 weeks -- and you call the cable company to fix it? "Things happen." Shrug.
Things do happen. But they should be great, big, honking disasters before you wait over 2 hours for a tent, two chairs and a table to show up that you'd paid for three weeks in advance! Before a parade that has been in the works for months starts an hour and a half late. Before you drive 4 hours to an art show because you have to be finished setting up before the official opening and the panels and tables aren't finished being set up, and then the folks at the door let people in early and they step all over your art work because "things happen." Before you lose power on a regular basis because the utilities fail to provide sufficient power, and have every single important electrical utility open to the elements... well, that's a rant for antoher day.
I'm tired of " things happen" since none of those things are ever good things for me! Aren't you tired of it too?
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**OK -- really weird! As I was writing this (in my office in Manhattan), the power dimmed, then came back. Now we're hearing reports of blackouts all over the city.
Technorati Tags: Bronx Council on the Arts, street fairs, things happen, Con Ed Drives Me Crazy
