Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2006. We took Mattie to Scott's Run Nature Preserve that weekend and paused for a minute to take a photo. Most of the time Mattie complied for my need for photo documentation. To me those moments together were special and I wanted to capture them for all of us, but most importantly for Mattie. I figured one day he would look back at them and reflect. Little did I know that I was the one who was going to be reflecting and what role the photos would serve in my life.
Quote of the day: In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth. ~ Xunzi
When I saw this quote today, it struck a chord with me! Why? Because of the day I have had. Sometimes when you work with people, they only see a very small segment of the reality. You can try to point out the truth and the bigger picture but it isn't always appreciated or absorbed. In the context I am writing this, I am NOT talking about cancer.
Each May, Mattie Miracle hosts a Foundation Walk and Family Festival. It is our largest fundraiser of the year. For the past five years a local restaurant has donated all the food and has come to cook it for our guests. It has been a beautiful arrangement, in which Peter and I became good friends with this restaurant's executive chef. In the spring, this chef left that restaurant group and she gave me several email addresses of people to contact to keep the relationship going. So a few weeks ago, I wrote a long email to one of the executive chefs in the restaurant group. It was a deeply meaningful message because I shared with him what his restaurant means to me and my family. It was Mattie's favorite restaurant and one we patron OFTEN since 2005. I happen to know this chef lost his wife to cancer and I mentioned that in the message. Not to upset him but to let him know what we share a commonality of losing someone we love to cancer and knowing that it profoundly changes our future. I explained to him about Mattie, our Foundation, the importance of the walk and what his restaurant has been doing for us for the past five years. With the hope that he would continue the tradition.
Well apparently my message was NOT well received by him. He was very upset, bordering on mad that I mentioned his wife in the email and refused to answer my email. Instead, he sent it along to his director of communications. Who basically said she had NO idea that the former executive chef was doing this for Mattie Miracle, but that the restaurant's policy is not to do such events because they can't afford to take staff away from their restaurant for an outside event. I explained to her that the former executive director worked for us on a day she wasn't scheduled to work at the restaurant and also brought her family and friends to help her. So she wasn't at all taking away man power at the restaurant. I got NO where with the director of communications and told her this needed to go up the corporate ladder.
So today I received an email from the director of operations. His email was equally frustrating, if not bordering on insulting. He basically said that the restaurant has NO recollection of us and that it was the restaurant who has been very generous to us over the years NOT the executive chef. He then mentioned specifically that the general manager of the restaurant doesn't know who I am. I couldn't get this go!!! Because the general manager must have amnesia! I immediately wrote the director of operations back and let him know that the general manger does indeed know me. We have had several email, phone and in person conversations. That is problem number one. Problem number two is I wanted him to know that I am aware of the restaurant's generosity and in a way I try to do my part (besides dining there often). I host a volunteer dinner for 15-20 people at his restaurant every February before the Walk and then after the walk, I have a post family dinner there. In essence what I spend on both of these dinners, is equivalent to their food donation. Not to mention my frequent patronage. In addition, I let him know that I always give the restaurant an in-gift tax deductible acknowledgment letter for all the food. To say that I am disgusted by these back and forth messages is putting it mildly. It really is insulting, since I have been going to this restaurant for over a decade, have spent a lot of money at this restaurant, and worse, this was Mattie's favorite place, and they DON'T seem to know or remember this. Just plain SAD!
1 comment:
Vicki, I am so sorry to read this email! A complete lack of communication on their part. Making it terribly hard since it was Mattie's favorite restaurant and you have had a long term relationship. How quickly that is forgotten.
I do need to add the picture of you & Mattie was stunning. The picture shows pure joy! Pictures tell a story but sometimes those looking back aren't the ones, we intended would be remembering the memory!!!
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