When I pulled the handle it appeared locked. I will be honest here, part of me thought: "Great! I'll go home and read!" but the other part, the part that is not going to let me fall down on this project, said, "Knock on the door, Loser." So I did. It was opened by a young man, typically geeky/nerdy - big glasses, flyaway hair, turleneck. Wouldn't look me in the eye. I asked if Jan was there, the woman who'd emailed to welcome me to the group and they said they didn't know and went back to playing their game. So I went through a doorway into one giant room full of chairs, walls covered with bookshelves and books, and a long table in the front where the 'officers' of the society were sitting (it was the monthly business meeting).
I walked up to the first person I saw and said, "I'm new. Just joined on Meet Up. Where is Jan?" He smiled and pointed to a woman at the front table. Jan was in black sweats with pearl earrings (?). She had the long hair parted in the middle, a sort of Mamas and Papas Michelle Phillips look. She was very enthusiastic and welcoming, and immediately got up and started introducing me around. In the space of 10 minutes I got sucked into:
1) working with a member who is a physicist and is trying to enlist teachers to create a science fiction curriculum for high school students
2) judging a writing contest
3) helping out with their annual sci fi conference
4) I was asked to join a poetry critique group and a book club but had to decline. One must draw a line somewhere!
Another small town story - these always surprise me - one of the women I met turned out to be the mother of a teenager I taught at a local arts high school five years ago. Her mother, Margaret, called her during the break to tell her and she remembered me and said hello. I admit I felt a teensy bit old. Had five years really passed? What did I have to show for it? That sort of thing. Her daughter is graduating from a great university and then getting married. Not the same as going to 52 Meet Ups. Ah well! I still love my little project.
We finally sat down to the meeting. To best describe the people, picture a blend of Twin Peaks characters and those in the bar scene of Star Wars. Lots of older men in suspenders and flannel with long white beards. Women with long white hair and strange caps. Young nerdy guys with big glasses, heavyset middle aged women with frizzy hair.
First order of business was: new people! Since I'd been introduced around everyone pointed to me. I waved, said hi, had to explain what I taught at Margaret's daughter's school, how I'd found out about the group, etc.
The meeting was what you'd expect - minutes from last time, accounting stuff, upcoming events and who's doing what. Someone wanted to start some kind of singing group and a lot of time was spent on deciding what day and time that would take place on a regular basis. I tried to figure out how singing and science fiction go together but came up empty. Clean up duties around the building were discussed, committees related to the sci fi conference, a donation in the name of a member who had died, then the announcements.
One gentleman announced that Sears might go bankrupt (again, how this related to sci fi I don't know, but one could say it did qualify as an announcement), and a long debate about how that happened, some legal stuff, and something about shareholders, ensued. I didn't care to follow it. People got very excited.
Another woman announced that she'd bought a car. People then had to know what she'd had and for how long (a Tercel for 28 years). The trade in ($100), and what she'd bought (A Yaris the color of the TARDIS). At least there's a bit of a sci fi connection there. Her husband said they are trying to figure out how to change Yaris to TARDIS on the car and they'll report back. You can be sure I'll keep you posted!
I hadn't eaten dinner and thought about announcing that, but it was my first meeting and I'd had my moment at the beginning.
Did I mention that a gentleman was lying on a lounge chair, the kind you use for the beach, in the middle of the aisle the whole time?
When the next showing of Game of Thrones in the building for a group watch was decided and meeting adjourned.
I guess I was hoping for a meeting where people shared alien abduction experiences, or did dramatic readings from The Martian Chronicles. Obviously that's silly. It was so normal. Well, except for everyone's hair.
Not sure about friend possibilities. I was my own demographic. And no dating possibilities here. I had a 'what if?' moment when assigned to the physicist (would be cool to be married to a physicist - I heart science and watch NOVA religiously. I also built a rocket in my physics class in high school and accurately predicted its trajectory and where it would land. Finding out people are mostly space and that the only reason your hand doesn't go through the table is that the table is pushing back was a religious experience for me). But, alas, turns out he's married.
Margaret and Jan loaded me up with reading material about the society and I made my way out into the night feeling pretty pleased with myself. Two meetings down, I'm getting the hang of it.
I'm learning the human landscape of my city. From what I've seen, it's a many-splintered thing. Odd, but endearing.
Tomorrow night I go to a knitting Meet Up. I borrowed my sister's needles (purple, my fave) and some gorgeous blue-purple yarn. I read in the British Poetry Society monthly newsletter that they gathered a group of 1000 knitters and knitted a Dylan Thomas poem. Each person created multiple squares of one letter against a contrasting background.
Here's the link so you can read about it: Knitted Dylan Thomas Poem
Or just the picture:
Maybe I could do that with a scarf? But knit Emily Dickinson or Mary Oliver or Wendy Cope.
I just love Wendy Cope. She's a British poet - clever and sweet and funny. Here are some of my favorites of her poems:
THE ORANGE
At lunchtime I bought a huge orange —
The size of it made us all laugh.
I peeled and shared it with Robert and Dave —
They got quarters and I had a half.
And that orange, it made me so happy,
As ordinary things often do
Just lately. The shopping. A walk in the park.
This is peace and contentment. It’s new.
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.
TWO CURES FOR LOVE
1 Don’t see him. Don’t phone or write a letter.
2 The easy way: get to know him better.
FLOWERS
Some men never think of it.
You did. You’d come along
And say you’d nearly brought me flowers
But something had gone wrong.
The shop was closed. Or you had doubts —
The sort that minds like ours
Dream up incessantly. You thought
I might not want your flowers.
It made me smile and hug you then.
Now I can only smile.
But, look, the flowers you nearly brought
Have lasted all this while.
WHEN: January 14, 2012
WHERE: Building owned by the society
PEOPLE: About 40 (mostly middle aged or older, some young men in twenties)
COST: 0 - will be $35 if I go to another meeting/event
MILES: Less than a mile from my house, yay!
RATING: 7/10
THEME: Science (sort of)
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