Well, I think tomorrow will be the last NABJ update. I’m realizing that a grip of the stories don’t transfer to the written word nearly as well as they do the spoken. Gimme a call if you wanna hear nore. Don’t got the number? SOL, baby.
This might be my favorite story of the conference. I was talking from the Hyatt to the Marriott, and I stopped at the door of the Marriott to talk to the valet. I find that’s a good way to get a pulse of what’s going on, plus those cats just tend to be fun.
I roll up on a cat, and I ask him if he’s loving the weekend. After all, with all the scenery that embarked upon the city, it had to be a blast for him.
“Hell no. Messin up my money.”
I asked him if the journalists were tipping him badly. Maybe there are mroe cheap writers than just Bo Jones.
“Naw, I like the journalists. They journalists tip. It’s the damn MegaFest, man.”
The MegaFest was TD Jakes lil’ get together. He and millions of his people hit Atlanta for what looked like a really good time, if you’re into that sort of thing. They were everywhere, rolling too deep to get robbed (I figured one of them would catch it since they all walked around with their MegaFest badges, all of which scream out, “I ain’t from “round here”) but deep enough to stomp out more than a few cliques. They seemed like nice people to me.
Not to my man.
“Man, carryin all them bags upstairs, and all they got for me is ‘God Bless You.’ They know what time it is!”
Buddy was hot. Irate. Can’t blame him considering that his income is probably almost entirely determined by tips. But then, he asked his boy what he thought of megafest.
“Three bags, and all I got was one goddam dollar.”
Hotel people–don’t get hyped up about MegaFest. In a shocking victory, two out of two hotel employees prefer journalists to Jesus. The writing’s religious!
***
Tomorrow–the coolest people at NABJ. Or maybe today. If I could upload it, I’d show you all my Weather Channel demo tape. Who knows…might make it a yousendit file for a few of you. Might go see if I can play with the godson some more. Lil’ sucker’s so adorable. For his sake, good thing he looks like his mama.
6 thoughts on “NABJ III – Journalists vs. Jesus”
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Weather Channel demo tape? You go boy! Now that’s one I’d like to see.
I don’t know if you heard, but an attendee of the NABJ conf passed away during the weekend. Of Malaria.
That was extremeley sad to hear.
I was in the Marriott lobby too, to meet my friend Diane Amos (The PineSol Lady) who was promoting at the MegaFest. It was Journalists vs. Jesus down there. Interesting scene.
The steve harvey/ricky smiley show at megafest was damn, i mean dang funny. sans-cussin and all.
what’s up w/ you and the weather channel? my 21 yr old cuz just finished a good internship up there at the main office in cobb. co.
holler.
I ain’t shocked by your post. Last year the Georgia Dome concession stand employees complained about how cheap the Mega Festers were.
Another reason I don’t go to church. A religious group that doesn’t look out for their fellow man, that’s just a shame.
I was in ATL and saw a bunch of the MegaFest folks arriving. It looked like some of them packed a month’s worth of clothes. Doormen, bellhops, valets, etc. should have gotten hazard pay or something.
Before I make this next statement let me say that I am in no way, shape, or form making fun of someone dieing.
How does a woman die of malaria in downtown Atlanta? Someone obviously was not on their job.
C-Sherm 4:11 – Sometimes I’m too much man for my own damn self
she had just returned from africa, on a journalism gig.
Someone needs to look into whether malaria pills really work. I got malaria twice when we lived in Nigeria. TWICE. I was only three, so I really didn’t have much agency in taking the pills, but I’m pretty sure the ‘rents did what they were supposed to do. Here’s wishing her family the best, though. I can’t even imagine what this has got to be like.