End of the ConVENTion

The ConVENTion is over!*

Today was the big day, the tour of the museum. This afternoon from 12:00 until 4:00 438 people visited Vent Haven Museum (A.K.A. "our home"). It's always stressful and tiring, but it's always fun, too. As I told a conventioneer today, it's always good to see the museum through the eyes of people who don't live here. No matter how wonderful I think the museum is (and despite what I may have written previously about the museum and/or may write in the future, I really do think it's a fascinating place) it is easy to take it for granted when you live here and see it every day. The convention is a chance to see others caught up in the sense of wonder, and it inspires me each year.

I always feel bad for the first timers, especially in the years (like this year) when Lisa doesn't do an historical presentation about Vent Haven. It's so easy to be overwhelmed by the collection, and if you don't know a lot about the history of ventriloquism you don't really know what to look for at the museum. Many of the "red dotters" (The first time conventioneers have red dots on their name tags so that they can be identified easily) are either attending with someone who's been before or by Saturday they've made friends with a veteran, but I can usually tell when some first timers walk in that they have no idea what's going on, no idea what to look for, and they're just suffering from sensory overload, which the museum can do for you.

Today I really enjoyed watching the people watch the dummies. I took a number of photos with my cell phone of people just looking at the collection, with the idea that I would post them on this blog. Then it occurred to me later that the museum's new, restrictive photo policy bans the publication of museum photos on blogs like this! Drat it! Undone by a policy I am tasked with helping enforce! Truth to tell, I could probably post pictures here and no one would say anything to me, but I think it would be a pretty poor example.

So instead of posting any photos of the museum tour today I thought I'd post the photo below. It was taken this evening as the girls and I skipped out on the Saturday evening ventriloquist show and went to the pool instead. The girls wanted to go because they wanted to cool off after spending four hours sitting in the driveway selling bottled water. I wanted to go because I wanted to try out our new digital camera, which came with a plastic case that encloses the camera and allows a user to take photos underwater. Pretty nifty, huh?


*Well, technically the convention is over. We still have the advisers' cookout tomorrow, but that's a more relaxed affair.