Wednesday November 27th, 2013

The exercise:

Write about: the prize.

Ran some errands around town this morning with Max. He made new friends pretty much everywhere we went.

Mine:

As they enter the room, each man drops a piece of paper into a waiting box. On every scrap is a name and an address, both provided so that should their name be drawn for a door prize it could be mailed to them.

That is what they have been told, at any rate.

The conference they are attending is three days long and it has only just begun. If any of them had given the instructions they'd received upon arrival any thought they would have realized there was plenty of time to pull names and hand out prizes in person.

But the bartenders were waiting and ready for them, happy to let them know the first five drinks were on the house. Glasses had been filled and emptied many times before any of the attendees had even begun to look for the conference room.

So each man had dutifully completed his entry, placed it in the box, and taken his seat. Prepared to learn, prepared to make new contacts, prepared to enjoy a few days away from the cares of work and home.

However they, apparently, were not the least bit prepared to have those very same homes emptied of all of their valuables while they were at this bogus conference of ours.