How the Mighty are Fallen

[Harrison Owen]

Several weeks ago it was time to open space for The American Society of
Foresters. The venue was the grand ballroom of the International Hilton in
Washington DC -- Home to many Inaugural Balls -- and surely will be again
once we figure out whether we (in the US) have been bushed or gored.
(Frankly I am both). In short this is a big space, and so was the
anticipated group. 1500 folks . Sounded like fun to me, especially so since
it would allow me to wrest the title of Greatest Spacer from my friend and
colleague, one Christopher Schoch, recently of Paris. Christopher, so far
as I know, holds the record of 1200 for an Open Space. And believe me, I
wanted it --

The morning dawned clear and cold. All was in readiness even though the
Hilton Staff did not quite understand the notion of "circle." But with a
little couching, the square got rounded -- and man alive was that a BIG
SPACE....

Then they started to come... A few at first, but more and more. Filling the
rows, enlivening the circle. The atmosphere was tense and expectant. Nobody
had ever been there before. New! Exciting! Lots of Adrenalin. And. I was
going to beat Christopher.

Starting Time .. the place is only half full. Twenty minutes later... only
slightly better. I could just feel the record slipping away. Thoughts of
recounts and the Supreme Court past through my mind...

Finally it was time to go. No more waiting. No more forays to the Coat Room
to see if there were a few more bodies. Oh the agony of defeat.

A mere 850. So Chris -- You are still The Man (Person?)

And it got worse. Oh, of course, the 850 were precisely the right people.
The Space opened to receive a veritable cascade of issues and people.
Excitement, Movement. Great dance. But only 850.

And then --  the reports started to come in. At least something was going
right. BUT -- suddenly a computer system I had used hundreds of times
previously began to buck and spurt. For the life of me I couldn't figure
out what was the matter. Sweat poured down my face. Acid in the belly.
Monumental failure looming like a dark shadow... And there were only 850......

However, my misery was shattered when a nice lady brought me a cup of
coffee. She said..."I think this is wonderful."


Ughh!

But of course, she was right.


Harrison


Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
phone 301-469-9269
fax 301-983-9314
website www.mindspring.com/~owenhh
Open Space Institute website www.openspaceworld.org
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