“A Little Less Noise There!”
If Peter Pan‘s “Mr. Darling” had been my escort at the last few events I’ve covered for our “People Watching” section, he could have shouted his classic line from the rooftops…and still I’m pretty sure that no one would have heard him. At one luncheon, a cancer survivor spoke about her aggressive fight for health, which necessitated over 100 hours of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, she was all but drowned out by the clink of cutlery and echos of conversations that couldn’t be paused. At another luncheon, it took three podium-pleas to call the room to attention before the program could proceed. The same was true at a recent ball, where a frustrated speaker finally asked, “Everyone who can hear me, can you please tap your knife against your glass?” Yet the talking persisted, even through a brief presentation about a particularly heartbreaking CASA case.
I love covering events, and have been a firsthand witness to the hours upon hours of thought, planning, and hard work that go into bringing each one to life. Co-chairs often pull me aside to emphasize the importance of bringing attention to so many worthy beneficiaries in print. I couldn’t agree more with the directive — in fact, I count it my greatest privilege as a social columnist to spotlight all the good I’ve seen in Dallas. I’d just like there to be “a little less noise there,” so that I can hear a few good things, too. Anyone else?
