So i finished my last humor program yesterday - i did my Finding the Funny in Communications keynote for a group up in Sacramento. The program was fun and i even got to do some networking the day before at the Calsae event. I think it was “run into people I’ve lost touch with” week as I met my friend Steve Swafford of Leadership Outfitters at the tradeshow. Steve and I used to speak at ASAE events back when we both worked for associations in DC, and then I moved here to Los Angeles and Steve must be stalking me, ‘cause he moved here a few years ago too. We both now run our own businesses and do business with associations.
THEN the funnest. . .Wednesday night, thanks to posting my whereabouts on Facebook, i met up with my friend Liz (and her husband Lawrence), whom I haven’t seen in almost 35 years! You never know how those reunions will turn out - she could have been wanting to meet with me because she was a member of a cult and was looking for some recruiting points. But no, she’s actually normal and we caught up like we hadn’t missed a beat in 35 years. We laughed a LOT about our girl scout troop and all the camping trips we went on. . .Liz apparently got way too much latrine duty. And I just remember how pointless it felt to spend all day gathering wood to make a fire to spend hours cooking dinner when my mom could do it in like 45 minutes at home while I could be playing. I still am not big on cooking, but I’m trying. Oh, and don't get me started on crafts. . .I HATE them! I like my life right now because I'm not too young or too old, so no one wants me to do CRAFTS! The day the nursing home I'm living in pulls out macaroni, glue, and construction paper is the day I hope I have enough strength left to hobble out in front of a bus. . .
A few things that had changed:
- She goes by Liz, not Elizabeth, I go by Jan, Not Jannie
- Neither of us can probably fit into our G.S. uniforms - but that’s okay with me. Green skirts and sashes are out of style (like they were ever in style??)
- She is outgoing. . .not the shy girl I remembered. I’m a comedian, and she doesn't remember me be the class clown. . .probably because I wasn't. (see my ComedyWriterBlog.com for more on this.)
One of the things we both laughed about the most is how neither of us was in the "in crowd" back in school or scouting - which is probably why we both turned out so normal (apologies to the cheerleaders out there who are normal). AND i found out that her dad worked for Voice of America and she had a very interesting trip one summer. We didn't know stuff like that about each other in G.S. because that's not the stuff you talk about while you're scrubbing the latrines - the conversations centered more around "how come the leaders' daughters aren't cleaning the latrines?"
In my travels I've been fortunate to re-connect with several friends around the country and it's always been a blast. What a great way to wrap up my last event for the year!
Jan
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