"Saturday Morning in Cowtown"
I had to be in Fort Worth this morning at 9am for a presentation at a conference. Though it is only thirty miles from our house to Fort Worth, the traffic and road construction between here and there often make it seem much further. To be on the safe side, we left way early. Since it was 7am on a Saturday morning there was virtually no traffic on the highways, which made the tangle of construction zones a little more tolerable, we arrived way early. This allowed for some time before my presentation to walk around Sundance Square.
Though together they make up the DFW metroplex, Fort Worth has a whole different character than Dallas. Dallas tries to be modern and high tech but, as a city, I think it has little character. Fort Worth, though there is growth and building going on, has successfully maintained its old west charm from the past. Our stroll this morning made me want to plan a day to spend more time enjoying this city.
As we were walking, I was struck by this clock perched atop a pole along the sidewalk. I like the contrast with the bright blue morning sky and the fact that the bookends of buildings place it in context. Unfortunately, I had to take this photo with my phone. I didn't even think about taking my camera because I had other electronic worries on my mind.
My presentation, to the MENSA National Gathering, was on the sacred geometry of Chartres cathedral. For this I finally joined the modern age and decided to use a Keynote presentation instead of handouts. I enjoyed created the slide show but I still don't trust technology not to screw me over when I actually need it most to work. Weber transferred my Keynote presentation from my desktop Mac to his laptop and figured out all of the cables and connectors that I would need to connect it to the conference center's AV equipment. I am way out of my league when it comes to hardware stuff like this. I want to be able just to push the right buttons and have everything work without any glitches!
Because we arrived in Fort Worth early and because I was the first presenter of the day in that particular room, we were able to get in and check everything out without having to rush. Weber disconnected the PC that was already in the room, attached his laptop, plugged in some cables and it worked perfectly! I pushed the buttons and the Keynote presentation rolled through the slides exactly like it was supposed to.
When I checked in at the speaker's desk upon arrival at the conference center, I introduced Weber as my "technical support," which didn't make him happy. I have to admit that at that particular moment, in my mind, that was his most important function. (Sorry! Sometimes the truth isn't pretty.) I don't get bent out of shape about speaking to large crowds - unless there is the possibility that I will be humiliated in front of the group by inanimate objects.
When it came time to introduce myself as the session began, I hope I redeemed myself somewhat in Weber's mind when I introduced him as my husband, my moral support and my technical support - in descending order of importance at that moment.
