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CONVENTION DISPATCH
Saturday Apr. 25, 2015
Weary. I slept-fast. Not as energetic I might like to be. Sore knee, my back uncomfortable from sitting in hotel-chairs and sleeping on an unfamiliar mattress …
Readying for breakfast, then a full day/evening of conventional conventioneering.
… following Friday night …
Frivolity, grazing, greeting, way-finding, hugs/handshakes, acquaintance-renewing – mulling my experience of last night, enjoying good company. Some discussions posed more questions than they answered.
Toastmasters fraternity, as I’ve come to know it over a dozen years feels like a combination of bad jokes and hope, fresh opportunities wafting over old memories, battle wounds and snide remarks, laughter and caring – perhaps like a travelling family reunion comedy show, one where long-lost relatives reconnect …
And weary warriors like me play games on stage (think … a crude variation of Whose Line Is it Anyway?) entertained those who had not yet made their way to the hospitality room …
What makes this special?
How would you recognize it from any other similar gathering?
On its surface, if you’ve seen one – well, you’ve seen them all.
It is more than watching aging veterans fading or witnessing first-timers navigate new territory.
It’s about moments of connection, reconnection and new-exploration.
Mark Kolke
column written/ published from Lethbridge Lodge, Lethbridge, AB
morning walk: 1C/34F, but it seemed a good deal colder, cloudy and a steady breeze pushed through darkness. I went, corner to corner to corner of old downtown precinct, streets were silent except for occasional drunks on corners, early patrons at Tim Horton’s …as breeze generated tears iced up on my cheeks
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