Last August my friend Kathryn Tidyman was driving through Ohio and stopped to say hello. And to tell me TheCityChoir of Washington had decided to hold its first annual fund-raising auction. She wanted to know if I would bring my twenty years of experience with auction data management to their table and help bring this effort to fruition. Being big of heart and sometimes short of reality, I quickly said, "Yes." Actually, I think I said, "Absolutely!"The more I thought about rewriting the Access database management application that I had used most recently, the more apprehensive I got. A full-time job, plus a minimum of two hours a day spent commuting, plus nights of singing and babysitting leave me with very little free time. I would have had to recreate the system from scratch, and I was very afraid that I would be begging for migraines and trouble.
Over the past years, people with an auction knowledge base such as mine have written software packages that can be used to manage auctions. I started dreaming about being able to use one of those systems rather than "rolling our own". I was getting up my courage to ask Kathryn how she felt about using a commercially-available system, when—out of the blue—I got a call from her asking me the same thing. Clearly, great minds think alike.
We moved forward with procuring the software and getting the training, and I moved into a consultant role, which fit my schedule. Kathryn recruited volunteers, and they all worked tirelessly procuring donations and organizing the auction. And on Saturday I drove to Washington with the Jazzman in tow.
(One of the facets of a coupled life that we would each want would be the ability to travel together peaceably. Two months into our relationship, it was time to see if we were up to the task.)
We left my house at 7:30 Saturday morning, and stopped in Gaithersburg, MD, at noon to have lunch with my fave cousin, Bruce, and his darling daughter, Sarah. Then we headed to the auction site and unloaded my computer, printer, and other assorted support paraphernalia. Then we were off to the hotel in Chevy Chase to check in, unload our bags, and return to the auction site. I quickly got to work, and the Jazzman moved into a support role, which he does immaculately. While I continued the preparations, he returned to the hotel to shower and change.
I was busily moving among people and rooms, making sure I was doing everything I could to help, while taking moments here and there to greet and hug old friends, some dating back to 1971. I noticed that a man, whom we'll refer to as Joe, had volunteered to help out with the event. Joe and I had traveled in a group to Europe several years back, and I had always felt a strong attraction to him and, seemingly, he to me. We had gone out once, and he had never called or e-mailed me afterwards, even after years of professing interest.
I was standing in the main hall, checking on logistics, when I heard a deep voice behind me, speaking directly into my ear. "Are you seeing anyone?" I immediately assumed it was Joe, again trying to string me along in his best "player" fashion. "Yes," I replied, "actually I am. And it's quite wonderful." I then turned the question on him, "And you?" I turned to face him and realized it wasn't Joe. It was the Jazzman, although I didn't recognize him at first, cleaned and polished and dressed to kill. I had only ever seen him in very casual, casual, or business casual attire. This dark suit and open-collar shirt would make any woman swoon! I'm sure I blushed three shades of red before I started laughing, both for joy that I was not having to deal with the ever-vacillatory Joe and with excitement for the eye candy that was going to be by my side all night long. Thank God I had answered as I had!
Anytime you're working under pressure with new software, you're sure to run into problems. And we did run into problems. The Jazzman stayed alert throughout the evening to where I was and what I might possibly need. Anytime anything went a little rocky, he was at my elbow, pitching in graciously and selflessly. Have I mentioned to you that this man is a jewel? By the time we were wrapping up the evening, about 10:30, all my friends were absolutely filled with gratitude to and for him. When the check-out process was at its worst, when patience was thin and tempers were flaring, he was rock solid, calming patrons down, handing out receipts and issuing instructions. He was, in short, indefatigable. (And if you need the definition I'm using, it's "Extremely persistent and untiring.")
We went back to the hotel and put our feet up. In the morning we had breakfast and read the Post, then headed out for a little drive through my old neighborhood so he could see my house. Then we met my dear friend and travel companion, Risa, for pizza at 2 Amys. A short drive afterward through Arlington National Cemetery and a half hour walking through The Container Store were followed by an hour of debriefing with Kathryn. As we left her to head back to Ohio, I told her that whatever the auction brought in, even if it fell short of her goals, was more than the organization had beforehand, and was absolutely worthwhile to the future of the chorus. Kudos to Kathryn for another very hard job, very well done.
Just short of five hours later, we were back at my house, unloading the car. And still speaking to each other.
So we answered the question: Yes, we are able to travel together, quite well, thankyouverymuch.
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