Showtime in Sardinia

Upon arrival in our stateroom, I found my lecture schedule waiting for me.  I thought it was really strange.  I wouldn’t be speaking for 4 days, not a bad thing after an international flight, but they didn’t have the Florence talk on the schedule at all.  Of course, that was the one I wasted the most sweat on trying to get ready.  So basically I’ve had four days to get nervous.   I didn’t realize what a stressful situation this would be.  We’ve shared tables with people at dinner and I’ve tried to sell them on coming, but there are a lot of activities available on this ship that I’m competing with.  Maybe the Greeks would appreciate the agon because it’s been agony for me.  The first lecture scheduled for today—four days out of Rome—is The Legacy of Rome.  This lecture I cobbled together from an old Western Civ lecture.   When I met the Cruise Director Dottie on our first day aboard ship, I asked about time.  She said 40-45 minutes per talk was max; people would start to lose interest and wander away.  Of course, I had prepared for an hour, so I was already in trouble.  I’ve been reworking my slides, deleting some and adding others based on what’s happening with shore excursions.  The set of lectures for this cruise are really not destination oriented, but I just didn’t have the time to do the research so had to stick with stuff I had.  Frankly, I’ve been sweating it.  Oh well, it’s Showtime.

Dwight and I spent the day on board.  I even worked out.  Sardinia looks nice from the ship, but I don’t feel cheated by not going ashore.  Keeping my fingers crossed, I reported to the theatre in time to meet the stage manager and get hooked up for sound.  Several people straggled in, and the show began.  It went pretty well.  I was a little flat, but the small crowd appeared interested and I brought it in in about 50 minutes.  Not too bad overall.  Time to relax and get ready for tomorrow’s show.