Wednesday, May 12, 2010

In my neighborhood, it is not at all unusual for me to be stopped by groups of people who want my attention for various reasons. There are tourists who need directions, there are homeless people who need money and/or food, there are servers who need you to come into their restaurant, and there are groups like Greenpeace who need your information and your ear. I ignore all of them, except for the homeless, but even with them, I simply cannot give each and every day.

My routine is always the same. I take one headphone out of my ear, I hear what they have to say, and then I tell them that I'm on my way to work or on my home. They usually retort with some reason as to why their cause is urgent, but by then my headphones are back in effect, the speed of my gait has increased, and they are left flummoxed until the next victim comes along. This is 100% effective by the way--well it was until today.

This morning while walking to work, this woman came up to me and asked me if I was interested in supporting a second term for Washington DC Mayor Adrian Fenty. Fenty's reputation has taken a hit over the past couple of years, and I have noticed his supporters all over the city, but usually I am able to evade them. So when I saw this woman, I was mad that she snuck up on me, but I composed myself, and went into my tried and true methodology to get rid of such people. Just when I got to the part where I put my headphones back on, and starting to turn around to creep away, I got a tap on my shoulder. It was from Mayor Fenty himself. The following conversation went down:

Fenty: So you're not going to at least stop and let Amy take your information so you can support me?
Me: Well I wasn't until I saw you
Fenty: That's why I'm here my friend
Me: Well you need to be stopping people, not her (I laugh, he laughs, and Amy halfway laughs with resentment on her face)
Fenty: I just want to know that I can count on you come election time
Me: You can count on me, but you do know you're approval rating is taking a hit in the city as of late
Fenty: It comes with the territory man
Me: By the way, I'm coming after you and your 17 minute, 3 mile run time
Fenty: well if you let Amy here take your info, perhaps i'll call or email you and you can run with me
Me: You and I both know that'll never happen, but i'll give Amy my info
Fenty (laughs): Thank you sir, that's all I ask

Now, I must admit, I was a bit starstruck at first, but I quickly regained my composure thank God. I must give props to Amy and Mayor Fenty for penetrating my previously impenetrable defense, and getting me to talk AND give up my information. And I really hope he calls me, so I can participate in one of this legendary morning runs. I wrote about wanting to beat his ass in a race three years ago, and this is my best chance yet.

Creepin - Stevie Wonder featuring Minnie Riperton

7 comments:

Jazzbrew said...

I have to give YOU props my man. You played it cool and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Fenty called you for that run.

...ok, I'll be surprised but at least your exchange was smooth as silk boxers.

Greenpeace kills me with their pitch... "do you have 5 minutes to save the planet or save blue whales or..." How do you walk away from that? Granted, I still walk away but I usually feel sort of bad about it.

Papier Girl said...

Um, wow...he's hot. *speechless*

maxwellsmusze said...

fenty knows he's got this election in the bag over the crip keeper. that's pretty cool though you got to meet him on the humble. i see you were sure to get some of those legendary, snide remarks in. pretty sure amy, wasn't smiling but muttering prick under her breath. hahaha!

Neil MacLean said...

HAH!! Man, I'm almost not even surprised by this story, but it's a great one. I hate dealing with these people on the street, although campaign groups are lower on the annoyment scale than the greenpeace and groups looking for donations- those are the worst. Especially as they want you to give them recurring payments from your account. WHO DOES THIS?

You played it cool, as jazzbrew said. Very impressive.

Neil MacLean said...

Jazz, I tell those greenpeace people that I'm already donating to some other group. Then I say, "but good luck!"

maxwellsmusze said...

@ sixfive - to answer ur question who does that - i got suckered into the reoccuring payment thing. i was cornered by children's international and the next thing i knew, i'd bought a child in the phillipines...

Neil MacLean said...

@maxwellsmusze See the thing is, I would too.. I can't allow myself to get sucked in or I will end up in the same spot. I gotta cut it off right as they begin the spiel. My problem is I feel bad that everyone ignores them, and I dont want to do the same thing. Yet really I do want to ignore them.