Wednesday, July 30, 2008

A Comedy of Errors

I gave an Earthwatch presentation to the Alaska Prospector’s Society last night. Man… If it could go wrong – It did!

This was one where they contacted me and asked if I could speak to their group. Prior to their phone call I didn’t even know they existed, so I knew nothing about them. I guessed by their name that they had something to do with Gold, but other than that I was clueless.

I had down on my schedule that it would start at 7:00 at the local United Methodist Church – so I arrived about 10 minuets early, as is my custom. They told me there would be a sign on the door, but I walked all the way around the building and didn’t see any sign – so I tried the front door.

It was open, but I don’t think it was supposed to be because I ended up setting off the alarm! Not knowing what else to do, I stepped back outside and closed the door (even though I knew that would not make the alarm turn off). It just so happened that two bicycle cops were riding past, so I tried to flag them down but they didn’t see me.

I walked over to the next door just in time to see the man inside fiddling with the alarm key pad, so I knocked on the door and he let me in.

That’s when I discovered that the presentation was supposed to be at 7:30, which made me about 45 minutes early.

Al, the man who let me in, was all in a fluster because the church people had left the room set up with tables all over – and he was going to have to take them all down to set up the chairs for this meeting, and then would have to put it all back the way it was. He had his measuring tape out and was creating a map, with dimensions and everything, so that he could get it back exactly right. Having to deal with the alarm and with me just really upset him to where he kept measuring the same thing over and over again.

That’s when I realized that the alarm had not been turned off, and was still going on loud as ever outside the building. About then, the cops showed up: those two bicycle cops as well as a police car full of another pair. They came in and talked to Al and me, and then left.

Al eventually got the alarm turned off, and I went outside and sat on a parking bumper to give him space so that he could deal with the seating arrangement without any more interruptions.

As I sat out there, I watched car after car show up and people head on into the church. I realized that there was nobody under the age of 65 at this meeting, and most of them were well on their way towards 90. Not exactly what I was expecting… but still doable.

When Al finally got things set up, he asked me for my computer. Well, I had been told they would provide the computer, so all I had with me was my disc containing my presentation. This threw another monkey in the works, and poor Al was going to have a heart attack I thought (not an idle threat considering his age). I finally had to run back home – 10 miles one way – to pick up my laptop and bring it back to the church for the presentation.

Once I actually got to give the presentation, it went quite well. The people were all very attentive and had lots of information to add, since they’d been all over the world themselves. I have to admit, I played the “youth card” to the hilt, promoting their “grandmotherly” instincts towards me.

One lady in particular came over to me afterwards to encourage me – I had said I needed to learn how to swim so that I could swim with the whale sharks. She gave me all kinds of information on where to go, who to learn from, what equipment I would need, how easy it would be… all that. It was cute.

One very good thing did come out of all this: I am now an Honorary Member of the Alaska Prospector’s Society!

I’m surely their youngest member…

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