Duty

I got this post card in the mail the other day. It was from the Democrats and it wanted to remind me that I had plans this Saturday.

2nd Congressional District Convention
Start: May 20 2006 - 10:00am
End: May 20 2006 - 12:00pm

Yes, yes I do have plans for Saturday, I said to the post card. I have an art fair right down the street to visit. It’ll be fun. I like art fairs..

“No. No”, said the post card. “You are a delegate and you have an appointment with your responsibility on Saturday! “You signed up for this and you are going to follow through! Duty calls!

And I said Duty needs to make it a local call. Is it down the street from me? and the post card said
“Harnett County Courthouse
301 W. Cornelius Harnett Blvd
Lillington, NC,”

And I said Lillington? Where is that? , I’ll answer myself: A long way away. A Long Way Away as defined by “not down the street”, which is demonstrably, not down the street from me. It is not down the block, avenue or boulevard either. It is very far away. Very. Very. I would need a map to get there. I don’t do maps. I am not mappy.

And the post card said “Go to a map site! It’s not that far away - Duty Calls!!”

And so I did and it is. Far. far. Away. And one some of the sites it’s further away then I want to go. Same place, three different map sites three different maps. None of them made me happy. I’ve never been to Lillington and I’m not sure I want to drive 45 or 48 or 55 minutes one way for a meeting where I have nothing to add, could care less about and the only thing selling it to me at this point is the post card promises breakfast - if I get there at 9:30am. If I really wanted breakfast I could go down the street and get my own breakfast. I don’t even eat breakfast. It is not looking good for the 2nd Congressional District Convention.

I can almost get my mind around being awake at 9:30am on a Saturday. I’ve done that before and got up all on my own and not even on purpose! But that was getting up at 9:30am, not arriving at some far off destination that I will no doubt become lost trying to get to at 9:30am. I would have to set my alarm – on a Saturday and drag my ass out of bed and then drive a very long way away at some Gawd awful hour of the morning and then get there and be lost!

The post card went on “It’s only a couple of hours! You can go and take care of YOUR DUTY and still make the art fair, which we know for a fact runs for two days!”

To which I answered: An hour there, an hour back and that is if I manage to get to either destination on my first try and then still sitting in a chilly space for two additional hours? It’s looking like an all day affair to me.

The post card said – “DUTY. You’ll be home by 1:30 at the latest! And that is adding time for this mythical “lostness”! What a big baby you said you would do it, you have to do it. Don’t you hate people who say they’ll do something and then make up excuses why they suddenly can’t? You really hate that.”

The post card knows me well.