Today was the greening of the fountain, a big deal in Savannah, GA. In the days leading up to the greening, there were big crews scrubbing and cleaning the fountain, making it all spotless for the big show.
Ultimately, the parade committee that was in charge of the event totally did things the wrong way. They really don’t have any concept of how events work in the minds of the people gathered to see it. It seemed to me they were all too self-important to do things the right way. I’ll explain: They had these garden watering cans filled with green dye setup all around the perimeter of the fountain…
Then they had the committee members line up behind the cans, ready to pour. People were gathered around all excited for the fountain to start spurting green. As could be expected, they obligatorily rambled on and on about the parade, the grand marshal, the city of Savannah, St. Patrick’s Day itself, etc… until finally they got around to introducing the actual people who where apparently important enough to get to dump the dye in. This is where they took a wrong turn… as they introduced each person one at a time, that person poured in their dye. This was a mistake in my opinion because after the first batch of dye hits the water intake, the entire fountain starts spurting thick dark green liquid, which is really quite impressive for a tiny batch of green dye.
The reason this is a mistake is that after everyone’s anticipation is satisfied by seeing the greening occur, they leave… which means that the grand ceremony of honoring each person individually that the organizers envisioned “on paper” is reduced to a lonely, pointless, and pitiful proceeding. By the time the they get done introducing everyone and putting in the dye, the crowds have all left, leaving the needlessly amplified sounds of the PA to fall on empty concrete. It really is a sad state of affairs hearing an old man speak into a pointless microphone, hearing his voice echo through Forsyth Park as everyone just walks away.
