Sylvia's Journal

We learned that Friday’s rain dropped a record 8 inches on the low country, leaving many areas flooded. On Saturday Charleston dried up, allowing us to experience a mild fall day in the south: people in shorts and tank tops, eating on terraces outside. We did not join them as we had more business to attend to. We holed up for another 6 hours of board business, this time without excessive sugar consumption.

Mid-day we went on a walking tour of the campus to see where what conference activity will take place next June. The campus occupies one part of historic Charleston; beautiful old brick buildings, trees with long strings of moss dangling from their branches and some very old buildings, every one more elegant than the next. We marched in one cluster across the campus proudly wearing our Obama buttons which Bruce had provided for us (Virginia Firefighters for Obama). This may explain why we never had much contact with the locals. This is a parallel universe to the one I know in the Northeast. One of the favorite locals, I learned from a barrage of TV ads, is a woman who is ‘anti-abortion, pro gun, anti bailout and (this part stressed) not liberal!’ She too dresses well, just like Sarah.

We ended our meeting on the appointed time, said our thank yous to one another and walked to a fabulous restaurant for our final dinner together; a French-fusion extravaganza seducing everyone to eat and drink more than we would ordinarily do. We said goodbye to our 2008 conference coordinator, Quaker style, except for the silence, as there was none. With that we ended out board meeting.

Today, as the sun is finally coming out again, everyone travels back to their home by car, plane or train, scattering in all directions. Our next rendezvous is back here in Charleston for the 2009 conference in June.