cat and canary

only three of the people in that room knew why i got up and left so quickly. oh, i didn’t make a scene. of course not. these are not the kind of scenes i make. i just put my napkin down, quietly pushed my chair away from the table, sought out an unobstructed pathway towards the stairs, and made a beeline.

there were about ninety people there in the dining hall. ten of them were paid to serve us. the rest were academics, politicians, educators, esteemed guests.

we were gathered to honour scholarship. to honour those that use their academic/ research prowess to contribute to society/ community.

one (of the two awards given) went to a biologist who was inspired to create adaptive devices for disabled people (especially children) in order to help them more readily participate in daily life.

i love presentations that include visual aids. they make me feel like i am engaging in a story. they make the subject more tangible and fleshy.

though the award winner’s specialty was devices for children, he somehow designed a headband that is able to read brain waves. people can use their brain waves to control other simple devices.

on the projection screen was the image of a gnarled middle aged woman, laying painfully in a hospital bed. “With the use of this headband, our client is able to change the channels on the TV - despite her advanced state of Multiple Sclerosis”.

only three of the people in that room knew why i got up and left so quickly.