I was ready and willing. I shall send my contribution to ADC and beg forgiveness. Unobtrusively, ADC volunteers and staffers toiled around offering assistance to those who needed it while maintaining law and order on the convention floor. Some were busy repulsing the onslaught of free-riders who were on the lookout for an opportunity to enter without a paid ticket. What a disappointment it must have been for some.
Nothing exasperates the loss of dignity than an empty stomach.
When I asked one if it was worth the trouble, he miraculously turned the issue into one of class struggle where the wasta-less half of the participants are paying for the free meals of the other half who have wasta. He was not going to be exploited, he insisted. Then I thought about my free tickets and was overtaken by feelings of guilt until dessert arrived, then I was fine again. He remained hungry and bitter. I would have volunteered my meal since I was not really hungry, but his Rolex placed him in the wrong class of the alleged struggle.