Takin' My Show on the Road!

"Oh, that's just wonderful!"

Hiya, Friends!  Zoe here.  Well, the other day, I had the opportunity to take my show on the road.   Instead of speaking about the plight of the Little Giraffes of the Wild Steppes of the Binghams, I talked about another passion of mine: motor vehicles!

"Anybody have any idea why we're still clapping?"

I really get a kick out of cars.  I like 'em all.  Old or new, sporty or off-roaders.  They're all great in my book!  But my favorite is my Pink Jeep.  And that's the message I hope I got out during the speaking engagement.  There were a lot of us on the panel.  You know how that is.  Everybody gets their time to speak, everybody gets their time to listen.    But the oddest thing happened.

See, after this one person was finished with their talking, we started applauding, like you do.  They weren't outstanding, but they weren't awful, and we all were clapping, but the thing of it is, nobody wanted to be the first one to stop clapping, lest it be misconstrued that out of all these people, the one who stops clapping first hated what they had to say the most, and decided to stop the clapping.

Situations like that are awkward, I think.  So we all just kept clapping and clapping, especially those of us on the panel, and all I could think of was how numb my hands were getting, and how much I wanted to go to the expo area to look at all the things I could buy for my Pink Jeep.  I've been eying up a set of off-road lights for EVER, and I didn't want someone else to make a deal on them at the expo while I was stuck on this panel, clapping and clapping and clapping for this one speaker who wasn't all that great, but wasn't too bad, just not good enough to warrant all that clapping.

So guess what I did.  I stopped clapping.  I was that person.  Because it was time to call enough Enough.  And then I rubbed my hands on my head, to make sure I still even HAD hands, they were so numb from all the clapping.  I just didn't know what to do. 

Do you ever get that, Big People?  You're in an awkward situation, and then you react kind of weird, and then feel silly?  It happened to me.  And it is what it is.  But.  SOMEBODY needed to stop the clapping.  I mean, we would have missed the luncheon!  I wouldn't have got any pudding!  My off-road lights were in the danger of being sold out from under me and away from my Pink Jeep at the Expo!  I could never live with myself!

 

 

"Oh, puff.  I give up. I've got to get to the Expo to get my off-road lights!!!"

 So I stopped the clapping.  But I'm not an applause killer, I swear!  I hope I don't get that reputation.  I'm going to start wondering now if every time I'm asked to be on a panel at things where people speak if it's because I'm the one who stops the clapping.  I mean, somebody's got to, but I don't want it to always hafta be me!  Somebody, anybody, start up a rousing chorus of "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands," and I'll clap my hands until I'm blue in the face!  I promise!