| |
| So, if at this point you're asking yourself "why is your dad invited to this thing?", know that that is a completely legitimate question that deserves and answer... which I will pass along as soon as I have one myself. As of right now I'm struggling to even make one up to help this story flow a little better, so let's all just accept it and move on. |
| |
| On the night of the dinner, I left work early so that I could shower, put on my best suit and tie, and make sure that I could be there early. However, halfway into the drive I was reminded why I live in midtown. Driving out east sucks - you can't get anywhere on time. Anyway, once I did get there there everything went very well and I had a fantastic time engaging with the host, Congressman Ford and several of the Rabbis. Therefore, please do not take any of the following comments made in this article the wrong way. That is not the point of this article. (yes, there is a point - keep reading) Everything said or done from this point on is in the name of "science" which is the purpose of the entire Testing 1,2,3 section of this site. |
| |
|
|
|
After the formal dinner, speech and handshakes, I mingled with some of the attendees and got to hear an opposing view or two. Since I had been instructed to attend (and not debate) I listened a lot and tried to see the different points of view. When it was time to go, I was offered all sorts of little "Jr." goodies to take home with me. Not wanting to be rude, I loaded up on an assortment of key chains, buttons and stickers. However, at the end of the hall there was a grand prize... a fully lined fleece with embroidered logo. It was very choice, but seeing how there was a limited supply, I was afraid to ask for one. Fortunately however, this is where my dad enters back into the scene. It seems that he wasn't afraid to ask and a few weeks later, that fleece was hanging up on my coat rack at home. Sweet!
|
|
| |
| In the months that followed, I really just sort of sat on this whole experience and didn't much write or talk about it. However, that all changed when the winter weather rolled in and the temp inside my office started hitting as low as 48 degrees at night. I have a space heater, so a coat is really too much to wear all day; but a fleece vest on the other hand, that is perfect for office wear! So I decided to break my "Jr" schwag out and wear it all day at work. That day, the reaction I received from my co-workers ranged from "huh" to "ha ha". So in the days that followed, I decided to branch out a little further and wear the fleece out and about town. |
|
|
|
| |
| Originally the plan was to basically act like a total jerk all day and see if people would blame me or the logo on my fleece. However, that plan evolved one Wednesday afternoon after and interesting sequence of events. Below describes how those events went down. |
| |
| testing parameters |
| Tuesday night I saw a follow up piece on ABC news about how Tyra Banks once put on a "fat suit" just to see if people would react to her different. Shockingly, they did and ABC "news" was not only there to tell us about it, but also follow up on the 6 month old story to see if she was suffering from any lingering effects. Well, somewhere between choking on my turkey sandwich and diving for the remote, I had a brilliant idea. Why not wear my "Jr" fleece all day and see if people treat me any differently. What could possibly go wrong? |
|
|
|
| |
| Now in the name of science, I decided to actually write down some parameters as so to totally immerse myself into the whole "democrat for a day" experiment. This should keep the results fair and balanced and not turn the thing into a complete joke. Those rules are as follows. |
| |
 |
the fleece must be worn all day and the logo cannot be covered up in any way |
|
when in the car, the radio must be tuned to NPR |
|
instead of diet coke all day, I must drink ONLY Starbucks coffee |
|
if i have an urge to smoke, it must be a pipe |
|
my employer must be a non-for-profit agency with 501(c)3 status |
|
my place of residence must be in midtown |
|
if i have the time, visit the library and read the NY Times |
|
if i have a need to rent a car, it must be either a volvo or saab |
| |
|
|
| Now as regular readers of rv.com know, this site does not typically dive into political topics. It just tends to get messy. Furthermore, ever since the addition of the comment section on this site, I've kind of lost control of things in here. However, in the name of science, this experiment is going to be one of those rare exceptions. (With Animal Cracker Politics, the Peta Tree Rally and the Pickup vs Prius Incident being the others) |
| |
| fleece testing |
On the morning of 12/21/05 the weather was perfect. The night before the temp had dropped into the 20's so my office would be just right for fleecing it all day. Furthermore, there were several work related errands that needed to be run so I would be putting myself out there for lots of "reaction data collection".
|
| |
| |
|
So I piled into my truck and began the morning commute with my radio tuned to 91.1 BAM... the future of NPR. Since I work in the third poorest zip code in the United States, there really aren't any Starbucks around. However, there are a few gas stations that serve coffee, so I pulled in and used what I think was supposed to be a fountain drink cup (24 oz?) and made myself a cup. Now I am by no means a coffee drinker, so it wasn't long before I realized that this stuff really puts out a kick. I could honestly feel my eyeballs shake a little as I checked to see if any email had been sent to my non-for-profit .org address. So far so good with all the "rules" I've set up. |
|
| |
| As the day went on and I started to bump into people, the responses were pretty consistent with those I had collected before. However, these people all knew me. So I was convinced that the real data would roll in once I hit the outside world... and that started with a trip to AutoZone where I was out to re-re-re-re-affix the rear view mirror to the windshield of one of our vans. It was here that I would like to dispense my first real findings in the form of an analogy directed to all the male readers. Guys, you know all those times you oggle at a girl and think you're geting away with it? Well trust me, you aren't. I can't even begin to describe the number of times I caught somebody staring at my "Jr" logo rather than making eye contact. It really was amazing... or maybe it was just the coffee. Anyway, by mid-day it was time to go grab a bite to eat and, after yet another round of coffee, I went and picked up WLM and his buddy Jeff for lunch. After a brief parking issue, we went to this Sub-Shop on Main. |
|
 |
|
| |
| I've only been there once before, but the two ladies who run the place tend to be rather personable and will talk about anything... if only to distract you from the fact they screw you at the register. Honest - that's what they do. Anyway, I did feel like I was a little more "on the inside" with them once they saw how down I looked in my fleece, so maybe they will come correct and go legit at the register with me next time. |
| |
| So while up to this point there have been some interesting observations, nothing could have prepared me for the bizarre sequence that occurred at the M&R Grocery on Vance later that day. It was getting late in the afternoon and Streets was in need of some matches for the "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake. Since nobody had any, and i had not yet caved to the liberal need to own a pipe, I ran down to the M&R to purchase a pack. (side note: i did make several attempts to use the cigarette lighter in my truck to light the candles, but it always cooled off before I could make the run back to the cake. It wasn't until WLM asked "why not bring a candle to the car?" that I realized just how badly the fleece/coffee combo was affecting my problem solving abilities) |
| |
 |
|
Anyway, when the 80 foot green guy ERRRR... when I stepped into the M&R and asked for some matches, the lady at the register threw a pack up there and said "5 cent". Then, for some unexplained reason, the whole situation went awry when i took out my wallet and offered up a credit card. Without removing the cigarette from her mouth, she uttered something in the negative tone and suggested i pay cash... which I did. However, a $20 bill was apparently not what she had in mind either, so things started to get ugly. All the while, I thought I was doing this place a favor by not breaking out my 501(c)3 sheet and demanding not to have to pay any sales tax... but nooooo. |
|
| |
| My money, or at least the form it is offered in, isn't any good here. That is when the owner shows up. His first question is, and I'm not kidding, "where'd you get that fleece?". Completely freaked out is said something along the lines of "uhhh, Harold Ford Jr.?" By now there are about 8 people standing around the register just to check out what is going on and I am ready to hit the abort button on this whole experiment. However, it was my next completely out of context comment that served as my parachute - "I work for Ken down at Streets". It was like somebody had let all the air out of a balloon. You see, Ken has been in this neighborhood for 19 years and is known, and on good terms with, just about everybody. Therefore, by association, I'm an ok guy. Sensing this, I mustered up the courage to start talking about "Jr." and his chances in the US Senate race. That is when I learn that the owner of the M&R actually designed and printed the fleece that I'm wearing. Once again... I'm not kidding! He seems to think that East Tennessee is going to swing Jr's way on the strength of his healthcare platform. And while I didn't necessarily agree, it did make for interesting conversation... and that is what it was at this point. A conversation! Anyway, after about 5 minutes of election talk he shook my hand and told me he appreciated my comments about his fleece. At that point I just nodded, paid for my matches with a dime I had in the truck change holder, and headed back to Streets. |
| |
| results |
| From that point on in the day, I figured any data I collected would be overshadowed by the M&R experience, so I decided to just stay at my desk and keep quiet. As a result, here is what I think I learned. |
|
|
the fleece IS the perfect garment for wearing all day in a cold office |
|
NPR presents news in a unique way w/ music and background sounds that give you a feel for the scene |
|
coffee has waaaay more caffeine per floz than diet coke |
|
the only "pipes" in the 38126 zip code where i work in are not for tobacco use |
|
Streets standing in the community can bail you out of just about anything |
|
midtown is much further in ideology than it is distance from the 38126 |
|
the NY Times is not for sale at the M&R, but the Tri-State Defender (an African American Newspaper) is |
|
a clean pickup will stand out more than a chromed out hummer in the M&R parking lot |
| |
|
|
- 12/23/2005 1:36:36 PM