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I got a phone call today, a woman in charge of the Farm Bureau was arranging the date and time I will be giving a presentation to some of their members, talking about my Haunted House as far as how it happened, what I have accomplished?, what it is like?
I quickly was running down the list of places and organizations I have spoken in front of over the years.. then a very pleasant memory of such a different event popped into my head.
We have had bus loads of people arrive here as part of a general countryside tour involving a few other types of interesting locations. Mostly the buses were filled with elderly people... they are always on a "Schedule".
These trips get arranged with a lot of lead time, usually. We try to stress to the person from the bus company to explain what this place is.. because they were not doing a good job of communicating at all to some of those people.
The bus would arrive, they look out the windows of the bus, and almost none of them would want to get off and see the house!
I would get on the Bus, and using the bus P.A. system I would have to "Talk" them off of the Bus! I could never be 100% successful, because some of them will always be not very ambulatory. The Bus company would be satisfied that the huge majority would give us a chance to entertain them.
Such a group will never be able to get the entire house tour because they have other places they have to be besides here, and we have to have helpers to make it happen anyway as we show them three large portions of the house which does include the more impressive and noteworthy things here.
But what I remembered today while on the phone with the Farm Bureau woman.......
One time we had the call, a bus load of elderly people would be coming to see the house. I did not have to "Talk" them off of the bus!
Even though they were elderly, frail, didn't walk well...they all WANTED TO BE HERE!
They were all Halloween Fans and enthusiasts!
They were wearing Costumes! (Their canes, crutches and walkers were not a part of a costume!)
As I stood doing my routines in the first room, when I might pause at the end of a sentence, they would applaud!
WOW!
They may have applauded me in the first room 10 times!
Like I have always believed and thought to maintain my enthusiasm and energy level :"You never get a second chance to make a good first impression!"
(And when someone returns for a second, third, fourth time I am Still putting everything into it that I have! )
I am performing in front of Very Important People, after all. (Each and every one of them, is)
I quickly was running down the list of places and organizations I have spoken in front of over the years.. then a very pleasant memory of such a different event popped into my head.
We have had bus loads of people arrive here as part of a general countryside tour involving a few other types of interesting locations. Mostly the buses were filled with elderly people... they are always on a "Schedule".
These trips get arranged with a lot of lead time, usually. We try to stress to the person from the bus company to explain what this place is.. because they were not doing a good job of communicating at all to some of those people.
The bus would arrive, they look out the windows of the bus, and almost none of them would want to get off and see the house!
I would get on the Bus, and using the bus P.A. system I would have to "Talk" them off of the Bus! I could never be 100% successful, because some of them will always be not very ambulatory. The Bus company would be satisfied that the huge majority would give us a chance to entertain them.
Such a group will never be able to get the entire house tour because they have other places they have to be besides here, and we have to have helpers to make it happen anyway as we show them three large portions of the house which does include the more impressive and noteworthy things here.
But what I remembered today while on the phone with the Farm Bureau woman.......
One time we had the call, a bus load of elderly people would be coming to see the house. I did not have to "Talk" them off of the bus!
Even though they were elderly, frail, didn't walk well...they all WANTED TO BE HERE!
They were all Halloween Fans and enthusiasts!
They were wearing Costumes! (Their canes, crutches and walkers were not a part of a costume!)
As I stood doing my routines in the first room, when I might pause at the end of a sentence, they would applaud!
WOW!
They may have applauded me in the first room 10 times!
Like I have always believed and thought to maintain my enthusiasm and energy level :"You never get a second chance to make a good first impression!"
(And when someone returns for a second, third, fourth time I am Still putting everything into it that I have! )
I am performing in front of Very Important People, after all. (Each and every one of them, is)
