Think of Prospects as Friends

Tags: Business, General,

Some 30 years ago I set up a luncheon meeting with an office assistant at a theatre that presented touring Broadway shows. I was after her cast party bookings for a new restaurant I was promoting. She came down with the flu on the appointed day but couldn’t find my phone number to call and cancel. Not to worry: we’re talking show biz here. The lunch must go on. And so it did, the beginning of an exciting business partnership, but more importantly, a beautiful friendship that endured until the day she died.

When you sit across the table from someone you’re meeting for the first time, especially in a business setting, it never occurs to you that one day you’ll be a permanent fixture at their annual Christmas parties or the caretaker of their mother’s African Violets.

But it could happen.

When I first met Patricia (“Don’t call me Patty…”), her office was in the theatre coat closet.

So much for glamor.

But she was passionately in love with her job. And who wouldn’t be?

Opening nights.

Marquee name actors.

Dressing rooms with stars on the doors and big round light bulbs on the mirrors.

She convinced her boss at the time to let our agency submit a marketing plan for the theatre. He read it and promptly tossed it in a drawer.

But when Patricia’s new boss came on board (“Call me Mr. Moore…”), he obviously had a better eye for talent. He liked our ideas and soon hired us to promote their subscription series.

It was a “gig,” as they say, that would last 23 magical years.

If I didn’t need to work for a living, I would have hired on for free; it almost seemed a crime to charge for that much fun.

But fun it was with too many pre-show dinners and breathless brainstorming meetings to count.

Not to mention the intimate press conferences with film stars, Broadway legends, international ballet dancers, side-splitting comedians and musical artists from across the generations.

This was a world where “every seat is a good seat,” every show a “tour de force,” and every success another excuse for a glass of wine.

Not surprisingly, our friendship deepened over the years and it was only a matter of time before Patricia exchanged the coat closet for the corner office as the theatre’s General Manager.

During intermissions (or Act II if the show was a bomb), we would retreat to the boss’ office and talk about everything and anything.

Patricia saw me through dating, marriage, parenthood, house hunting, business growth and the loss of a sister and both parents.

I saw Patricia through marriage, parenthood, house hunting, promotions and the loss of a sister and both parents.

And then cancer.

For 15, long, brave years, Patricia fought the good fight until she finally conceded “it was OK” to slip away on March 1st.

In his eulogy, her husband spoke of her “finding her space in the bigger picture of life on earth” by always remaining positive, uncomplaining, and by graciously giving her time and attention to anyone she encountered.

This amazing woman walked 2.3 miles to work every day, and continued this practice even when the end destination was chemotherapy treatments.

By her husband’s calculations, that translated into some 37,000 miles on foot. A feat as incomprehensible as her ability to overcome one set back after another, and her determination to have an even more beautiful garden come next summer.

She envied my hair.

I envied her grace.

And I’m so grateful she misplaced my phone number those many years ago.

Anita Alvare (bio)/Alvare Associates/610-520-6140