While walking through the commercial building at the (somewhat small) Baxter County Fair last Thursday, I was stopped by a pair of friendly women working at a booth. Now, I never looked to see what they were selling or offering at the booth. The women had seen my camera as I walked by and asked me if I liked to take pictures.
One could say that about me.
They told me that I should attend the Twin Lakes and / or North Central Children’s Writers and Illustrators club meetings. Cherie was very excited to tell me that they needed volunteers to take specific pictures and those pictures would be turned into illustrations using PhotoShop.
I mentioned that I wrote a blog and oh, boy was that a bonus.
For them or for me, I am not quite sure.
We talked for a few minutes more, Cherie handed me a couple of cards with information on it and Randy and me (Jon - that's for you ;~}) went on our way. As we toured the fairgrounds - the one square block of fairgrounds - we talked off and on about me attending the meeting. Not being a social butterfly, but yet thinking that I could volunteer my time somewhere, I psyched myself up to going. When I got home, I looked the clubs up on the inter-web. What I read really didn’t seem like it was for me. The Children’s Writers and Illustrators group was meeting that coming Saturday at the new library. The new Donald W. Reynolds library which hadn’t yet opened for normal people.
Cherie’s phone number was on the cards they gave me, so I called her but ended up leaving a message. We finally talked on Saturday morning. She reiterated our conversation from the fair, encouraged me to go to the library for the meeting - and bonus - a tour of the new facility even before the normal folk would be able to see it. Unfortunately, she had to work at the fair, but had told Mary, the club president, that I may be there.
I drive to the fancy new library, which is just down the highway from us. There are barricades across the driveway to keep the normal people out. Had I not taken my brave pills, I might have seen that as a sign that this just wasn’t for me. I saw a few cars parked in the field just beyond the library parking lot, so I park there and walk to the small group of people waiting at the front door.
What happens next had me scratching my head for the rest of the day.
Mary introduced herself to me, and in one sentence said she had talked to Cherie but she hadn't talked to Cherie. Apparently, this is Mary's very special club, she was a very busy woman, she didn’t know how I would fit in and didn’t know what in the world Cherie was doing. Mary, not particularly liking that Cherie, the vice-president, was willy-nilly inviting normal people to her elite club.
Women!
In front of a handful of strangers, I had been uninvited after being invited. I tried to find a graceful exit by asking her to talk to Cherie. If they find that I do fit in their special club that Cherie has my phone number. And if they ever call I will tell them "fyathyrio".
She then asked if I had a card. No, I don’t have a card. She handed me hers, apparently hot off her ink-jet and told me to email her some samples of my pictures and blog.
Nothin’ doin’.
My interview days are over.
Mary then asked me if I would like to go on the new library tour. "Gee, no thanks, I will wait until it opens for the normal people."
I am sure that white she heard me, she didn't listen. Just like the cashier at Lowe's the other day. I was returning a pair of lampshades. She asked why I was returning them and I told her it was 'cause they didn't fit on my head. She heard me, but didn't listen.
Jon often quotes a line from Groucho Marx to me:
“I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”
I am in quite a pickle now, they don’t want me, so should I join? What would Groucho do?
To ease the pain of humiliation and rejection, I am pairing this with a few of my favorite pictures that make me smile.
Have the BEST day ever!
~ Dorothy
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