The Calm Before the Storm

I've heard, from various and sundry sources, that on Christmas day some year in WWI, the British and German soldiers along the Western Front set aside their weapons and differences and convened for a game of football in the no mans land between the trenches. Whether or not this heartwarming story is true, I cannot say.  The point is that two sides, though far apart in philosophy and negotiation, can temporarily leave acrimony and vitriol on the sidelines and engage in a moment of brotherly love. Thus was the case, Tuesday, eighth of January, twenty thirteen.

I, a mere seedling in the world of business, found myself at a round table, encircled by sixteen grizzled veterans of the power lending industry. Unfamiliarity assaulted my senses; the food was Lebanese, as was the wine, the neighborhood was upper east side, the chandelier was candle lit, and the average age was double my own. To compound the situation, the sixteen accomplices were representatives of opposing sides of a major transaction. Some were lenders, some were borrowers, and none would have been welcome in old Polonius' house. You might have thought there would be a tension, or perhaps just a thickening of the atmosphere, when a debtor of hundreds of millions of dollars is in the company of his creditor. And you would have been wrong. 

Thanks in part to the eagle-eyed waiters watching our wine glasses, a merry time was had by all. Stories abounded, dishes were shared, and a spirit of bon hommery reigned. It was as if chummy college buddies were catching up at a twentieth reunion. After three hours of laughing and back-slapping and stuffing ourselves to the brim with an assortment of lamb, humus, pita and the like, we decided to call it a night, retire to our beds and prepare for the tense day of negotiations to come. A mere 10 hours later, the troops had returned to their trenches, and business was conducted as if it were December 26^th, 1914.

Disclaimer: The above has been dramatized...for dramatic effect.