Tales from the faire, the engineering off

[fbhjr]

This last weekend we did all “historical educational” shows. No kids acts, no fire acts, etc.
Honestly the historical show is my favorite anyhow, so I don’t mind this. We do add something new each show and each day so it isn’t always the same so that usually works out.

After the second one Sunday a couple that I thought to be my age at least came up to me. I had noticed them in the audience when the man nodded at a lot of the different explanations I gave.
“We really liked your show,” the woman said in an eastern European accent.
“You laid out things very logically and made it easy to understand,” the man continued in the same accent.
“That is the goal,” I said. “We do our best to help folks understand how they really did it.”
“What did you do before you retired?” he asked me.
“I haven’t retired.”
“I know you just did a show, but what did you do for a living before this?”
“I work as an engineer at a company making power products. I haven’t retired, this is just what I do weekends.”
“Ah! I too was an engineer!”
“Excellent.”
“They paid us to come here,” his wife said.
“They pay me to perform here too,” I said. (I know, I know, but I can’t help it some times. OK, most times…)
“I mean the US!”
“When the Soviet Union collapsed, I had an offer to come here,” he said. “We took it and are quite happy we did.”
(Yes, I have had folks form this program work for me at other companies…).
“That’s great. I’m glad it worked out for you.”
“If you’re an engineer, do you have any patents?” he asked me.
“Yes, I do.”
“How many?”
“Nine.”
“Nine is good. I have twenty!”
“Wow! I’m not surprised you were able to find a good job here in the US.”
He looked at me then at his wife. She nodded.
I assumed this meant she was satisfied he had won the engineering off and they wandered off into the faire.


I do find it interesting the things folks use to use for this sort of activity.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud of my patents and would love to have more. They’re official recognition that you’ve invented something new, and that’s quite cool.
But, I do new things with or without official recognition, as do millions or more of other folks. And, that’s just as cool.
Either way, two faire patrons went away happy. That’s what I was being paid to do at that faire…

Comments

[ravena_kade]

While I know it was an Engineering Off I am smiling as I imagine a dance off.

Glad you could make people happy doing what you love to do.

[palusbuteo]

Wow that's a pretty cool interaction

I get a lot of people in Boston who said they used to work in the printing industry. Most of them are really appreciative of me talking about and preserving the craft and showing the "old school" ways. But sometimes I get people who try to toss a couple of fire crackers to see if I know anything or try to upstage me because they had been in the "real" printing industry or balk at how much slower the older techniques were

yeah, I know. that's why they tried to make printing easier & faster......