We have all been in situations that have elicited our "true colours". They are events that move us into a space where we are hardly able to rationalise our response. My most recent event of this nature was on Thursday evening at a Break-Away session with a client.
Picture it …
Five star Guest Lodge in the serene Magaliesburg. A slightly-inebriated group of well-to-do clients who have just finished a meal starter that would have made the Queen's chef jealous. Then …
A beggar-tramp shows up at the door. Clothing in tatters, booze in hand and a cough that had a 10-foot radius. He wants to come in. He can see the great food we're eating, but mostly stares at our wine glasses with a deep far-away look of longing. Before we know it, he barges in through the door as someone exits to try and get rid of him. With arthritic haste he swaggers over to a table and grabs someone's wine glass, chugging it back quicker than I believed. By now the Client Boss is up in arms and tries to get him out. The venue staff climb in as well – rather unsuccessfully. He sneaks in through another door. They usher him out again. He sneaks in again.
The group responds in various ways. Some laugh hysterically at this character out of a tangible discomfort at the situation. Some stare in disbelief wondering if this is a hoax. Others get up and do something by adding to the numbers ushering the slob out. Others order double whiskeys. Me? Well, I grab my beer and bolt for the back of the room out of fear that his cough would somehow reach my nicely buttered bread (I was also pretty fearful that he'd find his way to me).
He steps nearer – he smells terrible. He stumbles towards the microphone. NOOOOOOOOOOO! Don't let him near it. Just get him out dammit. He grabs a mic. Surreptitiously a song starts in the background. I recognise it as Sinatra's "My Way". Our trusty beggar then proceeds to belt out a nifty rendition of My Way.
It is a hoax. This guy is an entertainer. We stare in disbelief. He tells some bad jokes. Pulls out a harmonica and serenades us with sultry tunes. He kicks off his (tattered) shoes and tap dances to a number. The group love it. I then realise how I responded out of discomfort.
Evacuate. That was my internal motto. I feel slightly embarrassed.
In the South African context, where poverty stares us in the face at almost every traffic light we pull up to, I'm surprised at how we a as group responded to our trusty beggar. Most of all I'm in awe at how much of a learning lesson this corporate entertainment is. It is an event that cuts right into the consciousness of a group and elicits genuine responses.
Apparently this guy is renowned for the work he does at golf days where he steals golfers balls, falls asleep on fairways and generally creates quote a nuisance of himself.
A very valuable lesson it was.