There are those “glass is half empty/glass is half full” people around who look at situations and try to make the best or worst of them.
I’m somewhere in the middle at the moment. The Fundraiser has been down to a trickle, but a trickle nonetheless. It’s cause for optimism, but it’s cautious and occasionally flagging optimism. 8 days before it’s over and I’m at 43% of my goal. 43% is better than 0% and I am trying to get the powers-the-be to consider half of what is owed over the rent increase.
I know a lot of you haven’t made your pledge or contribution because you’re waiting for someone else to do it. And besides, you are probably thinking I will pull this one out of the fire at the last minute and I won’t need your help.
I wish that were true. The fact is – the Landlords have padlocked the doors to my Archive. And unless I come up with the money, the archives will be disposed of – all 150,000 reels of tape – all 50,000 discs and all the research, files and ephemera; all disposed of. Life’s work – gone.
The prospects of that happening are very real, and very depressing. And I could stay in the maudlin/terrified place and cast lots of aspersions as to the state of our culture, of our society as a whole and the callous disregard for history and learning most people currently have.
I could go there and it would do no good and serve no useful purpose. But the truth of it is, there are a lot of you out there who do care – a lot of you who still have your curiosity of life intact and a lot of you who have written to tell me you really like what Past Daily is all about.
And because of that I don’t give up hope and I keep my optimism going that, by the end of it, all will work out.
I do not believe the landlords who have padlocked my Archive and have prevented my access to it are unreasonable people. As someone once said to me, during another crisis: “it’s not personal; it’s business”. I don’t think people get a particular joy out of making someone’s life miserable – for the most part. There are greedy people, there are thoughtless people – there are people whose moral fiber couldn’t sustain a fly. But there are also people who believe that change is all about one person talking to another – progress is leading by example and that life is all about the journey and not the destination.
And so I hold out hope that this Fundraiser will have a successful conclusion. If it doesn’t, I will appeal to the powers-that-be and hope to strike a deal – give them what I’ve raised so far and ask them to consider my stay of execution while I scrounge for the rest of the money.
As I said, I do not believe my landlords are unreasonable people. However, they are one element in a larger organization – a corporation which looks at the bottom line and not the person attached – a corporation that has no interest in history or culture or education, but rather only an interest in the bottom line – the profit margin – how it looks to the stockholders.
It’s sad that our society has become this tangle of faceless non-entities which hold our lives in the balance. Sadder too that the people who can say no and can buck the edicts of the corporation themselves feel powerless to offer anything more than a shrug and an all-knowing nod and turn to their own terrified lives for relief.
All of that said – I am still hopeful enough of you who haven’t chipped in so far will think of these last 8 days as a make-or-break period and I hope you decide you want to help make a difference. Yes, I need to raise $2,000 in 8 days – that may not seem like a lot, but when you do something like this on such a tight budget, the smallest change can be potentially catastrophic. Every cent and every expenditure is carefully budgeted – nothing is wasted and nothing is left. I look to ad revenue as a way of sustaining the site and keeping the Archive open. And that is a slow process and one which relies on traffic; people coming to the site and visiting, looking around and listening. The more of you who come the greater the ad revenue is. I know a lot of you hate the ads – I’m not so crazy about them myself – most of them anyway. But it’s a necessary evil if I am to keep Past Daily open and free to everyone. And when you think about it, it’s a small price to pay.
So the bottom line – we’re coming up on the last week and I’m nervous as hell and I need your support. Pledge what you can – it’s tax-deductible and it will make a difference; no matter how much you decide. Every penny counts, and for the next week every penny will be desperately needed and gratefully appreciated.
Those of you who have already made your contributions and pledges are no doubt sick of seeing the continuing saga played out on these pages. But I’m in a tight spot and I need all of your help, and I won’t be hounding for too much longer.
Those of you who are on the fence or are visiting for the first time; there’s not that many hours left. I need your help before it’s too late – give what you can, so I can continue giving you the best I can. I’m here because you’re here. We can make this thing happen. I am hopeful . . .with fingers crossed and all.
Till next time . . .
Gordon
