[ratpack] Re: When it's time to concede that the Gods are conspiring against you
- From: John Christensen <johncgg@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: ratpack@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 07:09:35 -0500
I would be pissed to. I have to take a blood pressure pill now.
JC
On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 7:54 PM, Ray Buck <rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Well, I spose that I otta quit being so ambiguous about my feelings. Let
> it just suffice to say that I'm not quite as pissed off as I was.
>
> r
>
> Sent from my Dreadnought using that barely tolerable Thunderbird email
> program
>
>
> On 7/12/2010 6:10 PM, Michael Wells wrote:
>
> I'd appreciate it if you'd be a little more succinct and stop beating
> around the bush, please just tell us how you feel.
>
> Dr Z
>
> On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 5:17 PM, Ray Buck <rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> The attached photo was just confirmation. I was getting a shot of the
>> winner of the IMSA Lites race when some dickhead walked in front of
>> me...just another brick in the wall.
>>
>> I told Larry about this, but I don't think I told anyone else on this
>> list. I had a little "issue" with a...and I'm gonna be nice here and just
>> say a security guard...who didn't want to let me drive the perimeter road
>> around the midway because I didn't have a ticket. He was right. All I
>> had was my press pass, the wristband that said, "Media All Access," a
>> parking permit and an official photo vest. This was right after the start
>> of the Invitational race and I was heading toward Clubhouse to shoot the
>> rest of it, then get to the podium for shots of the winners. I was able to
>> do that.
>>
>> Back to the guard: I'm glad he was standing to the side of my Burb
>> because when I'd had enough, I just said "I've gotta go. I'm the official
>> photographer for the race that's running right now" and nailed the
>> throttle. You wouldn't have known much difference, cuz a 3-ton Burb with a
>> 350 motor is kinda anemic.
>>
>> I finished shooting the race, then went to JG to lodge a formal
>> complaint. He sent me to a security underling who sent me to the next guy,
>> yada, yada. When I first got there I demanded an apology from the guard.
>> The person to whom I was directed, I believe it was Brad Harman, refused
>> that but offered his own apology.
>>
>> About the time I was leaving, JG arrived and said they'd had a complaint
>> about me being abusive. Absolute fabrication. (Shit...if I'd been abusive
>> the guard would have been UNDER my Burb.) So we went in to speak with Mr.
>> Harman. So I got to spent the duration of the next race as the head of
>> security made up arbitrary rules to justify his guard's actions. I've had
>> more enjoyable root canals. The more I thought about it, the angrier I
>> became. Here's why:
>>
>> First, the "mandatory" media meeting. It was held 30 minutes later than
>> first scheduled. Then, only part of the photographers showed up for it. I
>> saw several at Turn 1 for the start of the ALMS race that I KNOW weren't
>> there for that meeting. Part of the ALMS traveling circus, I suppose. But
>> that's not the major issue there. The problem is that *not once* was
>> anything said about what part of the perimeter road was *not* accessible,
>> nor was it stated that media member-owned vehicles were not allowed to park
>> in the paddock, nor was it stated then nor at any time in the past that the
>> handicapped spots in the parking area OUTSIDE the Clubhouse parking were for
>> Clubhouse members only. These were all things that the head of security
>> stated in that alleged meeting (read: "excuse session to shift blame away
>> from himself and his people.")
>>
>> To be truthful, I was so frikkin angry about it that I couldn't even pay
>> attention to the race. I'm angry with myself about that. Oh...here's
>> another thing he made up. If, for some reason I or anyone else can get a
>> vehicle on the access road, they won't be allowed in the west gate unless
>> they're on a special, secret (ok, I added that) list. I talked to Les Long
>> and we'll make sure that I get on it for Grand-Am. I'm gonna work my ass
>> off on getting a hard card before that event. If I have to bribe someone,
>> I'll do it.
>>
>> Anyway, I came back to the paddock after spending the duration of the ALMS
>> race going back and forth between turn 3 and the Attitudes. I figger that
>> the numskull at the west gate would have been given explicit instructions to
>> stop me from entering. So I didn't even cast my eyes in his direction. I
>> just drove in. Nobody came after me, so I guess there was no problem (I did
>> kinda hide the Burb among the team trailers.) I shot the pit lane after the
>> race (again, I didn't ask permission to go thru the opened gate, I just
>> followed another dude as if I knew what I was doing) and then the podium
>> ceremonies. I'd already had enough champagne sprayed/hugged onto me, so I
>> kinda moved to the side, but a weird thing happened. People noticed that I
>> was heading somewhere with a purpose (and a vest) and moved out of the way
>> and even pointed out a location for me to stand in front of them. I guess
>> it's like an Alpha Male wolf thing. I must have had an angry and purposeful
>> enough look on my face to convince people that I deserved to be where I was
>> headed. I dunno. I could be all wet about that (but not from the
>> champagne. I had to laugh about that. I could imagine walking into an AA
>> meeting smelling like that...especially if I ran into someone I knew) but it
>> seemed to work in any case.
>>
>> Ok. After the hootin and hollerin was over, I went back to the media
>> center and returned my vest. The lady to whom I handed it was very gracious
>> and I tried to smile and return the attitude. Then as I walked down the
>> stairs, JG was there, smoking a cigarette. I waked over to him and said,
>> "Well, we survived another one." He said, "Yeah...3 major events in 6 weeks
>> has just about killed me." I didn't say anything about the cigarettes...cuz
>> I'm a reformed smoker and I understand the issues with quitting.
>>
>> Then I did one of the most difficult things I've done recently. I held
>> out my hand to shake his and thanked him for being there with me in Harman's
>> office...as if he'd pulled my bacon out of the fire. If I'd said what was
>> on my mind, I would have asked him why he didn't mention the inconsistencies
>> in Harman's story. I would have asked why the rules changed between 7 am
>> and 10 am. And so on. But I said that I hoped to see him next week at the
>> MPRA race. He said, "Yep. And that will be an entirely different
>> situation." He'd said that before in explaining that the rules were quite a
>> bit more lax at those events than at the major ones.
>>
>> So I can't say that I'm over being angry about the way the "big ones"
>> tried to eat up a "small one" (you can bet yer ass that if it had been an
>> ALMS photographer complaining, he would have had his shoes shined and his
>> ass kissed) but I'm no longer searching the internet for handguns to deal
>> with the next (it is a very difficult thing to keep racial epithets out of
>> this commentary but I'm not gonna go there) security guard who decides that
>> he has the right to control the world and everyone in it just because
>> somebody dressed him in a poorly fitting uniform. As my Ma used to say,
>> "the line between a cop and a criminal is a very thin one and not hard to
>> cross."
>>
>> I'm thru ranting now.
>>
>> r
>>
>> --
>>
>> Sent from my Dreadnought using that barely tolerable Thunderbird email
>> program
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Dr. Z
> aka Michael Wells
> MCWells Photography
> mcwellsphoto@xxxxxxxxx
> 801-850-7279
>
>
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