The Perils of Jumping to Conclusions

Have you ever found yourself trying to make sense of brand new information when suddenly faced with it? Like getting off an airplane in a location you’ve never been to before. Looking for clues that remind you of something familiar. Or meeting a new person and, again, looking for clues that tell you what kind of person this is. When I am in those circumstances, I all too often use the immediate clues to categorize the information and put it all in a box with a familiar label.

I found myself at the other end of this process recently. As the untrained chairman of the Human Resources Committee for Field Arts and Events Hall, my first big challenge came quickly as we had a unique (ugly word in the human resource world) situation when a pivotal employee decided to retire. This situation required more than a “Happy Retirement” party with a cigar. There were several thorny questions, and I wanted to figure out how to obtain the necessary information I needed in the most timely and economical way. Happily, I was referred to a local expert who gave me the perfect guidance.

At the same time, I came across information about human resource companies that provided online help when you had a specific issue. They would help you set up systems, evaluate different payroll programs and so on. Short of hiring an expert, which was not an option on our budget, this seemed like a great alternative.

I called several of these companies for information, as their internet ads suggested. After about three calls, I found myself spending a good amount of time describing Port Angeles and Clallam County to these folks before they tried to find the right box to put us in. You know, rural, isolated, not near a big city. I could almost hear them sneer “Hicks.”

With the exception of that last word, all the rest is true. This is a very rural area isolated from many outside influences. We are two hours by car away from anything resembling a big city. Many of those drives to the city involve a bridge, ferry and always lots of traffic.

This isolation can work for us, too. A lot of our population has chosen to live here because of its beauty, location off the beaten path and general pace of life. Sure, we have a few big employers, but it’s not the jobs that draw people here.

Consequently, for such a rural, isolated location, we have a surprisingly vibrant arts community. We have several performing arts groups. Port Angeles Light Opera, PALOA, was a great example. It put on a major musical every year while it was active.  On opening night of “The Sound of Music” when the curtain opened on the interior of the Captain’s living room featuring a stairway to the upstairs, the audience applauded. The set got applause!

You see, we not only have great singers, actors and dancers here, we have artists and carpenters who create great sets. And when you see a set like that one for the Sound of Music, you know you are in for a great show.

While PALOA has retired, it’s been replaced and surpassed by Ghostlight Productions. There are several other theatre groups here on the peninsula as well. There are artists of all varieties—landscape, portrait, modern and art of the pie. But of all the arts, I am most familiar and involved in music.

Ok, full disclosure time. My husband had the role of Captain Von Trapp, so, yes, I’m very biased. But I’m not wrong.

Both of my sons graduated from Port Angeles High School which happens to have a terrific music program. When my younger son, the one who plays the violin, was a senior, one of the teachers applied to a special program offered by Carnegie Hall. The orchestra was accepted and we were soon planning a trip to take the 60 or so orchestra students to New York City to play in Carnegie Hall. Wow!

 Believe me, when I moved here, I did not have the capacity for a dream that wild or far-fetched. Had I driven through the town and someone invited me to buy a CD to help fund a trip by the local high school orchestra, I would be excused if my reaction was a) your high school has an orchestra? b) it’s good enough to be invited to go to Carnegie Hall? c) The one in New York City? 

You get the idea.

But we do. And more. All those children in the orchestra had parents who listened to them practice. Some of the children took private lessons as well, which parents paid for and sometimes drove them to. We sure went to all the concerts. We listened to that classical music and enjoyed it. We became fans.

That is just one example of how important the arts are here. Love of the Arts, and especially music, is in our DNA here on the peninsula. Some of the people who call this place home have spent their careers in those big cities doing all that big city stuff and brought the best experiencesback to us.

A great example of this is MOTS, (Music on the Straits) which was formed by two local kids—I mean men—who grew up here, one in Port Angeles and one in Sequim---and participated in the music programs in the schools. They are now world class musicians and bring some of their friends and colleagues to the peninsula every August for a music festival. This exposes us to other world class musicians. The concerts are often sold out.

What I’m trying to get at is that there is so much more to this place than you can see by pulling up a Google map while talking to a potential client on the phone. Remember that as you are evaluating any given person, that person is also evaluating you. My conclusion about those employees of the online HR companies was that it would take too long to educate them as to who and what we are.

And I started thinking about the local expert who had helped me craft a great retirement package for one of our most valued employees. She already knows all that background stuff. She knows us. Wouldn’t she make a great person to have on retainer?

I won’t keep you in suspense. The answer is yes and that relationship is working really well. But this has all reminded me of that habit of jumping to a conclusion about someone or something in a new setting. Makes me wonder how much I may have missed by writing off an opportunity because I misread it.

And for any of you readers left wondering about my reference to the art of pie, that’s from the title of the book my friend Kate McDermott wrote titled “The Art of the Pie.” While she may call herself a pie-chiatrist, I call her brilliant for creating this nationally recognized persona around something so seemingly simple as pie. That’s her art form.