ONE HOT CONVENTION

Being up in Albany, one would think that things would be cool. One is closer to the North Pole, and higher north you go it should be cooler. While at the convention this weekend things were anything but cool.

As we sat in a long meeting, one that was scheduled before dinner, the fire alarm suddenly went off. Being in a room with over 400 people, one gets the sense that perhaps everything is surreal, and the alarm is just a mistake. These things just don’t happen, or at least shouldn’t. You look around and everyone looks confused, should I get up and leave the building, or should I just ignore the aberration of the moment? Do I run like hell or just be cool and walk out? Should I knock over anyone in the process, or should I help others who may not be as agile as I am? I decided to walk out, there being no panic to deal with and go out the building. There was more smoke outside the building than I could find inside, as the staff was puffing away and shortening their life spans. It seems the commotion was about a pot in the kitchen that let out steam and it went into the ventilation system, which in turn set off the alarms.

Which leads me to the next day. We are all sitting at lunch when my associate Fred says to me: “Hey, look at that!” It seems about five men with the letters on their backs that said: “FD/EMS” were filing into the room. Jim, another colleague wondered what was going on. Being tired of the lousy food, the endless speeches, the constant applauding and standing ovations, I suggested that either someone was ill, or someone had caught fire. Although everyone at the table laughed at my tasteless joke, they pretended disdain!

Hey Guys, hose down these phonies!