Phive Phun Days at the Philly Phrolics |
Day 1
Already people are gathering for the Annual Gathering, which doesn’t even start until tomorrow afternoon. But I can get a chance to explore the hotel: Hospitality, the Games Room and the Mensa Boutique are all on the ground floor and all the sessions are floor below. Makes it easier to go from noshing to attending sessions. 4 of us from Phoenix trek off to view the Philly fireworks. Sure some people are gathering on the upper floors of the hotel, but the ONLY way to see fireworks is up close and personal. We were treated to one of the best fireworks displayed I have seen. They were set off from the step of the Art Museum (those famous steps that Rocky ran up), lasted about 25 nonstop minutes and blew the crowd away.
Day 2
We’re off and running! Registration took less than 5 minutes and I ventured over to Hospitality. What a site! Tables surround the room and each is full of food and I’ll learn over the next few days that the tables are always full. One table is a junk food junkies delight: M&Ms, tootsie rolls, Reese’s peanut butter cups, red licorice, starbursts, Tastee Cakes, broken up pieces of block chocolate, Hershey kisses. I get a sugar high just looking at it. Circulating among the AG’ers were Ben Franklin, Tom Jefferson, Uncle Sam on stilts and a variety of news reporters and cameras. The energy level is high. It seemed as though all 1400 registrants came at once. But we weren’t crowded and everyone was happy. How could we not be when we were encircled with plentiful food.
Day 3
Workshop sessions begin and I learned about virus hoaxes and am now prepared to respond to anyone who dares to send me yet another warning that I must send to 10,000 of my closest friends (so be forewarned). I run into Fran and Kent VanCleave, who say hi to all. Perhaps we’ll see them again in 2002. Other workshops I attend dealt with life of the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel (a very intriguing woman who was 65 at the time!), the traditional "dumb things Mensans do" workshop, how communicating in foreign languages can lead to some very wild local translations. But I have to miss workshops on the Underground Railroad, Linus and UNIX, the myths & realities of the Kennedy family and a Fishbowl. I make sure I don’t miss "Designer Snakes" and wind up with a quite beautiful snake curling itself around my arm, sliding over my shoulder, going around my neck and working its way back down my other arm. It’s not nearly as scary as I thought it would be and in fact, quite a wonderful experience. Where else but at an AG can you experience something like this, then wander into Hospitality where you’re treated to 5 tables of sumptuous desserts, the highlight of today’s eats.
Day 4
I took advantage of the shuttle bus and wandered into town to see the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, see where the Declaration of Independence was read aloud publicly for the first time, Betsy Ross’s house and Ben Franklin’s grave. If only my teachers could have brought history to life as well as my 2 hour walk around town…..
Back at the AG, I’m can attend workshops on near-death experiences, hospice care, and a movie trivia quiz. But the highlight of the afternoon is to watch 9,000 dominoes, set up specifically for the AG during the course of the day fall over. It took over 4 minutes and even incorporated the AG logo. The Domino Wizard set them up one by one using no mechanical devices. I checked in periodically and he was down on his knees placing the dominoes down one by one……very carefully.
The evening brings the Joke Off (dang I wish I could repeat my favorite joke here) and the Mensa Show, written by Dan Gilmore and including some very funny Mensa in-jokes.
Day 5
Okay, I’ll admit. I’m starting to get just a little homesick. However, to keep me occupied are workshops on the first hot air balloon journey around the globe, cults, bad science, investing, and being "sufficiently" skeptical (isn’t "skeptical Mensan" redundant?). In the evening, many ladies are dressed in gowns and many men are decked out in tuxedoes (gentlemen, trust me, you ALL look sexy when you put on a tux). It’s a glorious ending to a glorious AG. And if you don’t want to dance to the live band? You can always find a Carnelli game to entertain you and food is STILL plentiful in Hospitality.
Day 6
I’m on a plane at 10AM Philly time, my mind is racing: I’ll bet Greater Phoenix Mensa could put on an AG every bit as good…………
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