Louisiana-Bound (2008)
Part 25 of 40: More of the Picnic
Melanie and I needed a place to stand so we could listen. John Lee had already gone into his talk. We shifted our positions, a little here and a little there. I tried to get Melanie at a location where she could see best, but where we wouldn't be blocking others from seeing. Ah, delicate maneuvers were necessary!
We were to the left of the stage area and not very far back. John Lee seemed quite comfortable up there. When he initiated the topic of poetry and literature, I got the feeling he was going to pull a clever fast one. I tried to warn Melanie to get ready as she might have to go up front. But John Lee was motioning for her to make an appearance before my message was fully presented to her.
And sure enough, he surprised her completely. He weaves things together like that, our friend John Lee. Not tricky in a negative sense, but certainly clever! It was exciting for Melanie as her poem won a $100 gift certificate. I think the poem was "The Black Turtle Lady," but if not, Melanie will correct me on that. Patricia Grindel was a close second in the contest with her lovely angel poem.
John Lee told us later that he wanted to inspire the deafblind members to think of their talents and possibilities in the deafblind literature field. It worked well for everyone. Melanie did have a beautiful poem which was selected for the prize.
Tom Peters was at his best while telling his story. It took him half an hour and I could not judge by what he signed (I can't receive sign well) to know if it was good, but the reaction of the audience was not of a boring nature, but mostly of genuine interest.
And Tom threw in some comedy to spice up his speech. There was a fair amount of laughing from the people listening. Sometimes, it his talk was serious, but a few he got to the stage of hilarious. What was so funny?
That allowed me to conclude that he held the attention of his audience. And to me Tom may have reached a new level with his powerful hand and body gestures. Anyway, Tom's purpose was to encourage the deafblind and he surely did that. His performance was well appreciated.
Dan spoke a bit with the help of an interpreter. Our positions got blocked a bit and I missed what was being said. But he did call Toni Lyn up front to announce her new project for raising money to buy equipment for herself and the Louisiana deafblind. A totally unselfish cause by Toni Lyn. It was called "Pip's Cause." Yeah, a catchy name and an exciting lady.
Then Illy (Mark Gasaway) stole the show with his skit. He and his pretend dog (a stuffed animal) got into all kinds of unpleasant and smelly situations. And when worse got to impossible, Illy and his dog parted. I felt sad even though the dog wasn't real. Maybe next time, Illy will come up with a happy ending just for me. He is another performer who is very comfortable in front of a large audience.
You know, Illy does have a dog which he loves very much. And I mentioned him earlier, "Windy Gasaway." I agree, with what you are thinking. It is a perfect name for the dog of a clown. Of course Mark can be serious or funny. He is in complete control, I hope, lol. Mark, my shiny-top friend, definitely added to making my trip more memorable.
The drawing for prizes took place next. I forget the guy's name, but he must have skipped his daily exercises figuring he would be continually walking back and forth to pick up all his prizes and would count that as his exercise for the day. But hey, after four wins, I thought it might be good to just rub against the guy. But I couldn't get close enough! Besides, he was always on the move. I am not sure how many times he won! Now Melanie may remember his name and fill it in here. Anyway, he pretty much has all new small kitchen appliances now. lol.
Okay, I exaggerated a little, a kitchen has a lot of small appliances. He gets the rest of them next picnic! Melanie thinks his last name is Morgan. Well congratulations to Mr. Morgan. I hope he didn't have to call a U-haul. Maybe if I had of rubbed his hair, lol. That congratulations, is in fun, but sincere.
And the picnic continued even after the drawing. No, we didn't win anything, but considering all the tickets I had, I must have supported the fundraiser well.
Fighting and knife play and total chaos would occur before the picnic was over. And it is important to talk about it!
Written by
Harvey A. Bond
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Culture & Cooking + 
