5/19/11
re MY FRUSTRATING &
EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCE IN THE TONIGHT SHOW LINE, WITHOUT ANY GRACIOUSNESS FROM the “LINE WORKERS”:
I originally arrived for tonight show tickets @ 750am...one lady in line..she said she got there very early..turns out they only had standby tickets available..seems strange..guests mike huckabee & jack black..wouldn't expect an overflow..I want to see huckabee b/c he has a positive Christian influence..but wouldn't expect too many Hollywood VIPs to be interested in Huckabee (& Jack Black is a regular on talk shows, nothing new)..the lady was upset because we only got standby..she had guests coming from Oregon..and had assured them they would get in ..she said she even knew Jay and said she knew a cameraman who used to give her vip tickets...and she said she's the aunt of somebody who was on the show not long ago..didn't catch the name..the guy at the desk ..a regular from Hastings, Minnesota...tall fellow, usually pretty nice..called me "sir"...wanted to ask him if Hastings is near Hills where my dad was born, or near Edgerton where my grandpa was a pastor for a few years, but he was too busy. Later I Google mapped it and noticed Hastings is near Minneapolis and Edgerton & Hills are much further away.
After going to the Hollywood star ceremony for Chaka Khan, I returned to Burbank and spent a few hours working in the library on my photo album project. Then I returned for the show @ 2pm..& everything was going well...until..I gave the guy (was it elihu?) my standby ticket...he waved me thru, but then..a few moments later a guy said "sir" and told me to go back & said "He's got a special ticket for you" (COCKY!, sarcastic, unnecessary )...it turns out I had grabbed an old standby ticket from April that I hadn't used...so he was giving me a "special ticket" OUT ..and I looked like a liar & a con man in front of everybody..as I stammered "Uh, I must have grabbed the wrong ticket" ("Yeah right dude" he didn't say, but had that look, as everybody else looked as well. ).
So I walked rapidly back to my car & found the right standby ticket..the only other one in my car..can't believe I still had the April ticket lying around..I got back to the lineup & waved it excitedly at the dude ...he didn't seem impressed nor showed much evidence that he cared one way or another (albeit he cared enough to make sure I didn't get in with the wrong ticket, but didn't seem to care that now I had the right one, & said, without emotion, "Great, stand over there." He could have at least acknowledged that I wasn’t trying to con anybody. And they didn’t even have the graciousness to let me back to my original place in line (which would have been earlier enough to get in the show).
Furthermore, he wouldn't give me the old ticket back..saying it was “their property.” What the -?! YOUR PROPERTY? It was unused. Why can't I keep it as a souvenir ? Is it really their property if it goes unused ? But if there's one rule at the Tonight Show..like being around a cop... NEVER ARGUE. They don't like to think that much or care that much. If you show any emotion apart from laughing & cheering inside, you're suspicious. Keep a poker face and all emotional reactions to a minimum, if at all.
Anyways, needless to say, I didn't get in, and the African-American gal (the only one without a nametag by the way & the one who was frantically searching under the seat behind me for something last time I was here, when Travolta was the guest) who has become sort of "bossy" ...said "sorry, I got bad news for you guys" (a few of us extra standbys).. Why couldn’t they show a little GRACE given I had simply grabbed the wrong ticket ? I was there mainly to show support for Huckabee who I had gotten a fairly positive impression of when he was running for president some time ago. Anyways, I guess he's not going to run this year. The other guest was Jack Black..don't know much about him.
Why NO GRACE at the Tonight Show ? Everybody shows them grace ? Everybody sits patiently when Leno has to re-say a few lines (that he bumbled ) at the end of the show. Nobody complained when the staff was searching somewhat disruptively under the chairs behind us when Travolta was here, as if it would do any good ( I can imagine the response: “If you don’t like it, then leave, and don’t come back”) .We all cheer & laugh on cue for THEM, even when it’s not funny. That’s GRACE ! But NO GRACE for the fans in return ?
Eye on Hollywood
