ALDAcon Ambush

How did this happen? Why am I involved with ALDA again? Why, oh why. For 15 years, except for speeches at two ALDAcons, I've been able to avoid ALDA craziness. I avoided Mary Clark, I avoided Marylyn Howe: These people are certifiably crazy, and I had two young kids who needed me sane. I WAS FINE.

Well, mostly so. I got laid off from my job in Seattle and moved back to Chicago, and that really wasn't so much fun, even though I love Chicago. I mean, I live with my mother-in-law now. Many days, that defines un-fun. And I work from home most of the month and have no interaction with my colleagues at work other than email, IM, and videocon. And I'm living way out in nobody's-ever-heard-of-it Cary, about 40 miles from Chicago, where my two brothers and a lot of old friends live. I hardly ever see them. Maybe I wasn't so fine. But I wasn't crazy.

Then a couple of months ago Mary Clark emailed me and Marylyn Howe. Mary's the planning chair for ALDAcon 2008, poor girl. Being planning chair of a conference is even less fun than living with an in-law. The conference is in Chicago; 20th anniversary of ALDA and all that. I should have deleted Mary's email straightaway. Sure enough, she had come begging. Would Marylyn and/or I help with the conference program book? I don't like to be rude but staying sane is important: I politely said no. I also said no on behalf of Marylyn. Hell, we did enough--way too much--a long time ago. Nearly killed us. We're older now: time to kick back in the La-Z-Boy and on energetic days go golf. So I said no, no thank you.

But Mary Clark, she doesn't take a hint. She asked us to do something else, and I again said no for both of us. Then she asked us to do something else...no, no, no. But now I was going crazy trying to be polite with the no's. So the next time she asked--something about having my name connected with the Sponsorship Committee--I said okay, just so I don't have to do any work. It'll be okay if I don't have to work. Right. But this was ALDA. Crazy ALDA. Uh-oh.