Alright, so I needed a space for our little neighborhood get-together, right? Heard about this place, Passan Hall. Sounded decent enough, maybe a bit old school, but folks said it was available.
First Steps – Finding the Gatekeeper
First thing I did was try to find a phone number. Easier said than done. Searched online, asked around. Nothing solid. Finally got a name, someone supposedly in charge, from old Mrs. Gable down the street. Called the number she gave me. Rang about ten times, then went to a weird voicemail. Left a message. No call back. Tried again the next day. Same thing.
Decided I had to just go down there. Took a walk over one afternoon. Place looked okay from the outside, maybe needed a coat of paint. Doors locked up tight. Found a little notice board, mostly faded stuff, but there was a tiny sign with ‘Hall Bookings’ and another number. This one actually worked!
Getting Inside – The Real Fun Begins
A guy answered, sounded a bit grumpy. Told him I wanted to see about booking the hall. He sighed, like I was asking him to move a mountain. Said I needed to fill out a form. Okay, where do I get the form? “You gotta come down when Janice is in.” When’s Janice in? “Uh, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mornings. Usually.”
Great. So I went back the next Tuesday morning. Found Janice. Nice lady, but buried under paperwork. She hunted around for the form for like, ten minutes. Finally found one. It was a three-page monster! Asking all sorts of stuff – purpose of event, number of attendees, insurance proof (for a small neighborhood thing!), cleanup deposit details. Felt like applying for a bank loan.
Filled it all out right there. Took me a good half hour. Handed it back to Janice. She glanced at it. “Okay, this needs approval from Mr. Henderson.” Who’s Mr. Henderson? “He’s the committee chair.” Where’s he? “He only comes in once a week to sign things. Maybe Friday.”
The Waiting Game and Finally… Maybe
So, I waited. Friday came and went. Called Janice the following Tuesday. “Oh, Mr. Henderson didn’t make it in last week. Maybe this Friday.” This went on for another week! I was getting seriously annoyed. My little get-together date was getting closer.
Finally, the week after, Janice called me back. “Good news! Mr. Henderson approved it. You just need to pay the deposit now.” How much? She told me the amount. A bit steep, honestly. And I had to bring cash or a check. No cards. Of course not.
- Went to the bank, got the cash.
- Went back down to Passan Hall again.
- Gave Janice the cash.
- Got a handwritten receipt.
So, yeah. Got the hall booked. Finally. Took way more effort than it should have. You’d think they’d want people using the place, make it a bit easier. Felt like jumping through hoops the whole time. But hey, guess that’s how things work sometimes. The event itself went fine, thankfully. Cleaning up afterwards was another story, making sure we got that deposit back… but that’s for another day.
