San Diego, Ca- The Dave & Brad Show attempted to perform in Balboa Park for Free Tuesday, only to be thwarted by a KGTV Channel 10 News Van. It was a lovely day in Balboa Park full of families, visitors and children. Brad and I arrived, set up our juggling show and were just about to start when this plain white van with a satellite dish pulled up and proceeded to park in the juggling spot in front of the Lilly Pond.
I was hoping that the driver was going to move until she started pulling cable out of the back. I asked “Excuse me, but exactly how long will you be here?” She replied, “ Till 7:00. Why?” I retorted, “ Well we usually do shows here and the crowd usually sits in the shade." Her response was simply, “ Uh, Sorry. ”
We decided to stay in the spot and see what would happen because, even with the van, we were still getting a crowd. Imagine for a moment you are in one of the most beautiful parks in America. Sitting in front of the Lilly pond with the backdrop of the Botanical Building. You're watching the ever entertaining, “ The Dave & Brad Show.” You can see that the front rows have about 20 children. But right next to the audience is a White KGTV News Van with the engine running. So while your watching the show you're breathing part of the wafting cloud of engine smoke and Global Warming Co2. We made light of the Noxious Fumes from the exhaust of the KGTV Channel 10 News Van as Brad Stated,
“ This is the quite possibly the worst attempt at suicide ever.”
Which brings me to my subject: PROFESSIONAL COURTESY. When you’re in a working situation that immediately affects another working professional. I believe you should seek a way that allows both professionals to do their job as effectively as possible. The News Van could have easily moved down the street and run an extra 50 feet of cable.
You see we’ve had other News Crews like CBS Affiliate News 8 work next to us over the years and they usually park the van further down the street and run cable to the pond, but I assume that because KGTV 10 is moving towards “NON-UNION” that it was one of these Non-Union crew people that was too lazy to run cable another 50-100 feet. Perhaps she was thinking oh I’m just impeding the lowly juggling team. Perhaps she didn’t actually think about the noxious fumes that would billow through the crowds of a few hundred people, mostly children.
Did the Van affect the crowd and the show? Absolutely. We had several waves of people leave because they either couldn’t hear us over the engine, or became sick while inhaling the fumes from the Van.
Another example of Professional Courtesy: we have a number of Weddings and Quinceaneras that constantly take pictures in front of the pond in between performances. Most of photographers are quick and extremely cognizant that there is another working professional using the space as we are respectful of the special event. And we clear the area between shows to allow the photos to take place without our props and gear in the frame.
I grew up shooting video. I continue to produce media for professional clients, infomercials and video. So trust me when I say, “ I get it.” 90% of the people I work with or meet with in the park rock. Professional Respect. Today I witnessed the death of Professional Courtesy by a news van operator.
I intend to be a little more demanding when it comes to “Professional Courtesy” and not allow myself to fall into the passive Asian stereotype.
We walked away with Headaches, a Blog Entry and a renewed definition of Professional Courtesy.
Side Note: To add insult to injury I went home and walked to the local Jack in the Box which closes the dining room at 8:00p.m. I walk up at 7:55p.m. I know because I looked. They locked the door 5 minutes early. I knocked on the door, one of the staff so cleverly pointed back and shook their head, “No.” They didn’t let me into the dining room, I ate somewhere else and they have officially lost a customer for a while. Another fine example of “ The Death of Professional Courtesy.”
