Monday, July 22, 2019
Our day started when the alarms went off at TWO THIRTY AM!!! Don’t forget, we’re still partly on Pacific Daylight Time. We did our best to go to sleep at a decent time, but I think I managed … maybe 4- 4 1/2 hours sleep…? Dave got maybe another half an hour (because he’s a man?? he fell asleep sooner??) I don’t know. I just heard the alarms at 2:30 AM.
We were close to our goal of leaving our hotel in north Indianapolis by 3AM. And, thankfully, the accident that delayed our journey delivering the trailer Sunday evening had been resolved, so we made it to our venue in about 35 minutes. We were the first to arrive.
I’ve mentioned that we spent several days transcribing notes, studying those notes, making sure we have our facts correct, etc.
Today is where that came into play.
We got to the Beech Grove City Hall venue about 4:05. Again, a reminder, this is AM!!! Dave and I quickly set up the trailer, unloaded the boxes of supplies (literature, water bottles, Rx drug destruction kits {each one costs —$40.00!!!!! and they’re handed out like they’re candy!!!}. But never mind. I’m not an accountant. I’m not a drug specialist. I’m just a mom, a grandma, and someone who works with words.
Our consultants/PR reps showed up shortly after, and they set up their display tables.
We had previously decided that I would be the “public” face of Code 3 and our time with the trailer. I previously alluded to our strengths (DRP: charisma and people skills. CLP: succinct and articulate).
The early morning news shows were next. Honestly, I’m not sure I was awake enough at that point to know/remember what I said. I did four one minute spots with one station and two two minute spots and a Facebook Live with another. After that, they blur together. There were at least two more on camera walk throughs. Two newspaper 
interview/walkthroughs. And Dave says there was a radio interview also, but I have no memory of that. There was also a news conference in Beech Grove City Hall to announce some grants the city received for their drug education program, but we weren’t part of that. I did attend and got to sit for a minute and managed to not nod off.
I found that it’s a very narrow and somewhat tricky path to navigate. We want the media to help us get the word out about the trailer, but we don’t want them to show all of what is on the tour/in the trailer. Because if everything is shown on tv, why would anyone want to come and see it in person? I was deliberately keeping a few things from the news gals in the early morning, but somehow one of them heard about it and she brought it up, so I had to go along and show it. We do have one display of all the various drug paraphernalia we show, all in one place, and we asked that it not be shown. And I asked one tv reporter to be sure and say there was more to be seen and to please come and see the trailer itself and take the tour. He said he would.
Everyone, from the media to the city hall people, to the moms and dads who took the tour, all were very impressed and eager to tell others.
A major wrinkle in the day was a rainstorm. We had cardboard boxes of supplies stacked outside the trailer. Dave and another gentleman dashed to a nearby auto supply store for a tarp to cover them, but they still got pretty wet. We moved the tables of totes and water bottles into the trailer. The good thing about the rain is the humidity finally broke and the late afternoon and evening were quite pleasant.
The event officially ended at 2. We packed up with the consultant’s help, hitched the truck to the trailer and headed back to the hotel. Once parked and unhitched, we couldn’t bring ourselves to go out again for dinner. Breakfast had been a Starbucks coffee and sous vide egg bites at 6 am on the sidewalk beside the trailer. Lunch was a piece of beef jerky and pretzels on the sidewalk beside the trailer. We’d planned a nice dinner, but we were beat. Door Dash to the rescue. I ordered dinner from a local Italian place and we ate on the patio outside the back of the hotel. It was just what we needed.
Our next event is a farmer’s market on Thursday.
Unfortunately, the Indianapolis Colts Training Camp event has not worked out. We’re not sure where we’ll be after Thursday. If there’s more to do in Indiana, we’ll stay here. If there’s nothing else booked, we’ll head to Minnesota for the trailer’s next event at the Minnesota Farm Fest.
We’re planning a low-key day tomorrow. Laundry. Work. I’l post links as they become available. Thank you for your prayers! They were definitely felt today!!
Writer of Sweet Small Town Stories of Love and Family 