Thursday, January 31, 2013

Change and permanence.

Tonight I'm going out to dinner.

This is big news for me since I teeter, somewhat, on the brink of incipient agoraphobia.

That is, I don't go out much.

After putting myself completely into my job everyday for a good 10-12 hours, I need the restorative niche that my home provides. The tender mercies of my wife. The unconditional love of my golden retriever.

But tonight I'm going out with three people I last worked with almost two decades ago.

We were all together at Ally & Gargano. Adweek's "Agency of the Decade" for the 80s. Out of business by 1995.

Sic transit gloria mundi. Dig?

The four of us have lived through seismic changes in our industry.

The commercials we made together were conceived on hand-drawn storyboards.

Rough cuts were shown to clients on 3/4-inch tape.

When we were done, we got a 1-inch master.

The business has changed completely.

The past is dead and buried.

The old ways of doing things are gone.

But friendships built on long hours, on reliability, on shared problems, and humor and conversation, they remain.

Do the best work you can.

Don't be an asshole.

Don't be so serious all the time.

Find a few friends.

And keep them.




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to ger it George. Not healthy to always be Hamlet on the battlements and in the Moors. Were human and humanity means more than one. Friends, real friends, count. You don't need scores of them just real ones. Have a great time.

Anonymous said...
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