Thanksgiving

In the United States yesterday was Thanksgiving Day. For us it was been both a working day and a day of celebration.

Since before I left Toronto it has been on my agenda to do a video conference at an Alberta Government sponsored conference designed for front line service providers in their “developmental disabilities” sector. I made the conference developer aware quite awhile ago that I would not come to the physical location of the presentation – somewhere in Edmonton – but would broadcast myself by video hook-up to the participants. It has long been my dream to be able to take the message anywhere without always having to subject my body, my equipment and my personal assistants to the stress, fatigue and disruption that goes with touring conferences.

Over a year ago I began to develop the resources I would need to fulfill on occasions such as today. However – to cut a LONG story short – Wednesday evening Gabor and I, and even on Thanksgiving morning, I was putting the finishing touches on both the presentation and the steps needed to get Skype, the wireless headset, the air card and the webcam working with Erin and I, and the conference venue and organizers in a seamless way.

On top of ALL that, who knew, especially in Canada and so many months in advance, that Thursday, Nov. 27 would be Thanksgiving Day in the United States?!? Here the celebration is not like in Ontario. In Ontario the celebration is literally a movable feast. People line up their invitations and events so that they may go to a friend’s place on Saturday, a family on Sunday and another relative or friend on Monday. Here you have one shot, and everybody pretty much is organized to be gorging themselves, somewhere, with somebody at 6:00pm.

At River’s End a steady stream of RV’s of all sorts arrived on Wednesday, some even on Thursday morning. Sharon, a campground host, had been cooking since Wednesday afternoon. All campers were invited to a Thanksgiving feast, and expected to provide a dish from their own trailer’s kitchen. On Thursday morning I could easily observe a variety of culinary preparations underway on BBQ’s and under awnings sheltering portable tables.

However, in my eagerness to be “included”, and before I realized that I had in effect double booked myself, I had wheedled us an invitation to dine at the Stubers. Chloe Stubers and other members of the First Presbyterian Church were very helpful last January in getting our then team of five moved in and out of the three places we stayed that trip. In addition, Neel Foster, her mother, is a renown cook, an intriguing artist, and a warm funny companion. When we showed up to dinner two Wednesdays ago at the church I practically twisted her arm to invite us to HER house for Thanksgiving dinner. I think she was momentarily taken back by my boldness but politely and warmly acknowledged that we were invited.

Neither was Neel nonplused when I called her to ask if her house could be the venue for my video conference which would end a mere 15 minutes before dinner would be served.

So there we were, plugged into the family internet in the master bedroom, hiding away from the growing hub bub of large family Thanksgiving preparations, attempting to give a live video presentation to an unknown Albertan audience on the subject of Person Centred Planning. Sometimes my life seems surreal even to me!

I don’t know if I will ever know how it really went. I hope someone sends me the session feedback. Everything worked reasonably well on our side, except that when I put up slides apparently people could not hear my voice. So Erin and I put them up for 30 seconds each, then took them down as I continued my talk.

The really unfortunate part was that the media company we were working with were unable to give me return sound or video. It may have been some difficulty on our side – I am too new to Skype to know that yet. In any case the media representative left soon after my session. There was no one on the Alberta side left to set up some other sort of feedback for me to know how my audience (was there an audience) was receiving and responding to my talk, if they could read the slides or if there were questions and comments.

After a grueling hour the long anticipated video conference was over. Erin and I joined the extended Stubin/Foster family where the food and laughter were anything but grueling. We actually got to eat road kill! I will gladly tell you how that happened IF I get some comments and questions on this blog!!!

There is so much more that could be said. Let it suffice for now to write that tonight four of the young people we were with last night, on their way to a party, dropped into Avalanche, stayed for a cup of tea and some of Gabor’s techno music, took our business cards, shared Obama campaign stories, and promised to look into ways that we could talk at their peace groups, schools or clubs. Concern about my impact in Alberta faded in the certainty that yesterday we made a difference with some young people who are active and looking to make connections and bring a brighter future to our planet.

Judith