Re: A MooTH! A THing!

On May 7, 2012, at 3:39 PM, Deb Counts-Tabor wrote:

> We have only 12 room nights out of 40 booked. If I cancel right now, I will owe them $1500.

You know that I was never planning to show for this -- I'm not much of a joiner, Buffy makes my teeth itch, and I live too damned close by to book a hotel that far away from a decent bar -- so I'm just an outsider looking in. What I see, though, is that anyone who stated their intention to go *before* Deb made that room commitment should, at the very least, book and pay for their room.

Your business went bust? Don't sweat it. You wound up in the hospital? Nobody is going to blame you. Deb planned to accommodate some cancellations.

If, on the other hand, you just decided not to go after all? Screw you. Pay what you promised.

If you're having some sort of mental fit? Deal with it. Pay your three hundred bucks.

If you just turned out to have other plans? Well shit, friend, I'm sure Deb had plans for that money, too. You made your promise without anyone twisting your arm, and now you owe the hotel three hundred bucks.

If you were involved in picking the accommodations? You wanted a suite? You wanted easy parking? Cough up your three hundred bucks.

If you can't travel? You can't afford the airfare to get there? Or the dining when there? Or any good time at all? So you're just not going to go? Of course you can stay home. That's fine. It still costs three hundred bucks.

If you're just having second thoughts about the whole thing? Tough noogies. You should have had them earlier. Now you need to pay your three hundred bucks.



Deb took on this responsibility because she was naive enough to believe that your word was good. So far, three -- THREE! -- of you have lived up to faith. Out of twenty. The rest of you seem to be willing to let a good woman suffer serious financial pain because of... what? Your own bad planning? Your own neurosis? And you can live with yourselves? Don't you have any shame at all?

Letting Deb hang financially because your word is worthless is Not. Fucking. Okay. It is right at the top of the list of shitty things to do. It's fucking well inexcusable, and the passive disconnection you're displaying with your silence makes it even worse.

Whether or not any of you actually attend the gathering is not Deb's problem. Her problem is simple: you gave your word, and she loses thousands if you don't keep it. Now grow up, accept responsibility, keep your promise, and pay for your fucking room.


Make this right.