Dan takes one for the team! (was: Re: Maine Public Radiofundraising)

[Mission Control]

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Dan Billings" <billings@suscom-maine.net>
Date:  Tue, 6 Apr 2004 00:00:16 -0400

>It was like watching a car wreck -- I couldn't tune away.
>
>I was also fascinated to fund out how long the break would last.  It went 25
>minutes.
>

Do any of you remember (or dare admit watching) a late 70's movie called "Americathon?" It took place in "the future" (1998) and starred John Ritter as the U.S. president, and Harvey Korman as the (frustrated) host of a telethon designed to raise money for the (now) much impovershed U.S. government. (The President lives in an apartment, people jog to work on highways free of cars, and the cars themselves have become homes - sometimes stacked atop each other, apartment-style -
for nearly all of the working class. You get the picture.)

Anyway, the telethon is going poorly, that is until Harvey appears to be having a heart attack on the air. Once off stage, he discovers that it really *isn't* a heart attack, but - lo and behold - the numbers for the show have gone up and money begins to trickle in. He goes back on stage and suffers (hour upon hour) his "heart attack" for all to see... and the money really pours in.

Sounds a lot like your "watching a car wreck" / fundraising scenario to me!

Mike

Art imitates life - or life imitates art?