Sunday, February 22, 2009

Altered States

It was a four-state day today. Not the usual four-in-a-day states - confusion, frustration, mystification, and fatalistic acceptance - but real states: Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. It was the return from a delightful extended weekend in Virginia, visiting friends and attending a conference of children's entertainers. (Yes, there are such things and yes, even with lecture and workshop sessions they're as nuts as you'd expect them to be. Woe to the non-conference folks who came to the hotel for a quiet, relaxing weekend.)

Before leaving Virginia around noon, I projected we'd be home at 8:30 pm. We pulled into the driveway at 8:22 pm. Yea me! (Ok, it was blind luck, but I'll take the credit wherever I can find it.) In between, lots of coffee, hot chocolate, diet coke (or was it diet Pepsi? I can't tell the difference between one drink that tastes like kerosene and another.) and a bunch of trips to men's rooms from the south to the north.) And about a million radio stations.

I was especially eager to share a photo of something I saw at the conference. The theme for this year's conference was "Back to the Future" and if you've ever wondered what happens when incredibly talented people have way too much time on their hands, check out the full-size DeLorean below (complete with flux capacitor and other movie-version accessories) and, for comparison, the photo of the lead twister's own DeLorean next to it. The balloon version took a team of five people a total of about 40 person-hours.




Unrelated Item 1: Going Downhill Fast

What is up with those people who come back from a ski trip and leave the ski lift tag on their coats for weeks afterward?

6 comments:

DB said...

Ben, my guess is that there is something on the back of the ski lift tag that says "Do not remove' like the tag on the mattress that people won't rip off even after they buy the mattress.

DB

Angie said...

I didn't know you could still get de Loreans (real ones)! Didn't J. de L get locked up?

love, Angie, xx

Unknown said...

Inspiring my friend...Truly inspiring!...lol...As for the coat tag thing! My best guess would be that in some way they may feel that it valadates them somehow...or better yet, perhaps they ware it in celebration that they didn't earn a 'TOE tag'!...YIKS

Cathy said...

Sounds like a nice vacation. I remember the John DeLorean scandal which stopped absolutely no one from buying those bubble, flip-out door cars.

Sandy Daigler said...

I don't know what to say about the ballon DeLorean, other than to chuckle at your reference to the "lead twister." How do you get a job like that?

Washer Mom Val said...

Very cool balloon car! Multiple reasons for the "keeping the ski tags"
- Pride in the fact they went, yes, showing off "I went skiing and you didn't"
- They don't know how to remove them. Kinda a program the VCR thing.
- They want to hang on to it for the wonderful memories, rather sentimental....like a hospital wrist band.