Then I see words I had first read right over: The story’s dateline is Arlington, but it’s the one near D.C.
“Anchored by Nordstrom and Macy’s and home to more than 170 stores,” the news release goes on, “The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City has been a staple in the Arlington community since it opened in 1989.”
This could have been about the Burlington Mall, but it wasn’t.
Why was a p.r. firm letting YourArlington know?
Because the website has a little button called “Send news” at the top right. Through that button, anyone can send anything.
And they do.
News and opinions are edited before publication. The first test is whether the item relates to Arlington, Mass.
Spam goes right in the trash.
In this case, Chelsea Bohannon of Brave Public Relations in Atlanta must have thought one Arlington is as good as the next.
I let her know she had the wrong locale.
“Sorry,” she wrote, and I decided to have a further exchange. You can title it “Our Incredibly Shrinking World.”
I wrote her: “That’s really funny, Chelsea. My son, who has been an attorney at the Pentagon, lives in Virginia and knows Pentagon City, is moving his family to Atlanta, where he has a new job.”
In fact, before son Chris was an attorney, he worked in mall management at Pentagon City. He’s moved up: He’s becoming an administrative law judge. I’m very proud.
Chelsea responded: “That is funny! What a small world – he’ll love Atlanta, it’s a fantastic city!”
I hope so. It will be a lot farther for our family to visit our two grandchildren.
For a moment, the wonders of Internet publishing made some unexpected connections, happy and sad.
This observation/comment was published Sunday, April 20, 2014.
