Awfully sporting of you, Marilyn.

Yesterday, my company's marketing team, of which I am a junior member, held a working lunch. As I was handing out the food from Blockhead's Mexican Diner, my boss said, "So, what's going on? Does anyone have anything interesting to report?" There was a pause and so, hoping so spark some interesting discussion before we actually got down to the business of marketing funds, I brought up a story I had been thinking about since I heard it on NPR that morning.

"Following Virginia's lead, Maryland formally apologised for slavery," I announced.

There was a thirty second pause. Then the managing director of the marketing department turned to me and asked, "Who's Marilyn?"

Someone else on the team, the oldest person in the company by a large margin asked, "Is that a rock band?"


Now, either I don't enunciate, or this is an example of corporate tunnel vision: nothing exists beyond the firm, the work, the markets.

(After I explained it to them, yelling "Maryland! With a "D". The State Senate passed a resolution," they still looked at me like I was insane. I'm really glad I didn't bring up Chiquita and terrorist protection money, although they might have been into that, banana futures and such.)