The Fellows Dinner

Went to the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics) Fellows Dinner tonight. I cannot believe this was my 7th -- I was elected in 2003. I may have missed one -- but they all blur together. Funny -- I soooo wanted to be a Fellow. Worked my butt off doing service to AIAA. Chaired the big 2003 conference in Dayton in July 2003 to celebrate the Wright Brother's first flight centennial. I think that's what put me over the edge when I was elected in October 2002. Bought tickets (@ $100 a pop) for Mark, Anthony, Jim, Maggie and the Tusses for the big Awards dinner at which the new Fellows are introduced. Anthony was so cute in his tux. And John Travolta got some award at the Honors and Awards dinner at the Air Force Museum. Of course that is not where Fellows are inducted -- that happens at the Fellows Dinner -- cannot get in unless you are a Fellow. That first dinner is nice -- you have joined the club .....

Flash forward a few years (here I am pre-dinner with Sydney -- Mark was sure shaky!). Pay $115. Have dinner with a bunch of people who don't really care about clothes, shoes and spas and are not counting hours till the season finale of Grey's Anatomy .... Oh and these people -- the Guia's -- Professors at Cincinnati who know both me and Mark who were elected Fellows after me now ask where he is every year. They seem puzzle that I am a Fellow and he is not. Yolanda is going to nominate him this year ... I sure hope he is elected so I don't keep having to go to the dinner alone.

I was all crabby about having to go. To make matters worse I really did not know any of the new Fellows. But as it turned out I saw a few people that I needed to talk to -- saving me calls and e-mails at work. And I sat at a random table -- where I met a new Fellow who happened to be Cuban (I had to have a pic so I could send it to my Cuban friend who was carrying on when I was elected that he thought he would be the first Cuban Fellow -- so I guess at best three -- and who knows -- I cannot tell who is Cuban!). Also met this other really funny guy whose parents were Spaniard diplomats. We were all very interested in the "Camino de Santiago" -- the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain -- where the remains of the Apostle St Jame's are. The Cuban guy had done it (but mostly by car -- so no indulgences for him) and the other guy's son had just done it. And of course we drove it last year -- and hope to walk it some day. were all carrying on -- and the English speakers asked what was going on. After our explanations -- they all looked like we were crazy.

Funny -- I actually had a good time. Except for the meal -- it was horrid. AIAA seems to be having financial troubles. Which makes sense given the economy -- attendance was down by 40% it seemed. So the lesson learned is that you never know what will happen and should probably keep an open mind ........