As I’ve written about, I’m spokesman for their wonderful Save A Landmark program whereby we travel the country providing makeovers to historic landmarks. Last week, we were refurbishing the Barnum Museum in the city where the great salesman/huckster P.T. Barnum lived for so many years.
During these “tours,” I talk to TV and radio stations around the U.S. at these events about the work being done at the landmark, usually a few dozen stations over the course of about six hours. My Blackberry is typically off while I do these things because it distracts, but I had it on that morning because I was intrigued by the number of e-mails I was getting from back home. The article on the impending closure of Alice’s in the Park had just come out, and the Blackberry was in a constant buzz with the amount of feedback the piece was generating.
I get occasional breaks during the course of the interviews and each time, I would sneak a few e-mails in to see what people were saying about this hot issue. For the most part, the comments were in strong support of Alice and her restaurant in the park. Some examples:
“I particularly enjoyed today’s piece, ‘You cant put a price on Alice’s.’ Just reading it brought to mind the smell of those cinnamon buns — one of life’s guilty pleasures … I have lived in Huntington Beach on and off since the early 1970s, and spent much of my spare time here as a Long Beach youth even before that. I have always enjoyed the atmosphere and small town feel that used to exist here.”
“Just wanted to tell you that I thought your article on Alice’s Restaurant was excellent. You hit just the right tone, and nuanced anger at what is going down. It’s pleasing to see so many other people who are as equally unhappy about what the city is doing to Alice.”
