The Little Words Mean the Most

When it rains in New Zealand

L-r: Simone checks the skies, but no relief in sight. Mist alternates with downpour, but the countryside needs it, so everyone's pleased. We go to the movies in Nelson's delightful theater with dozens of screens in a small space. In NZ, you choose your seats at the movies. We see two in a row, Mao's Last Dancer and Boy. Both were delightful small films, both based on autobiographies. The first follows the tale of a Chinese boy who becomes a dancer in Communist China, travels to the US on a cultural exchange, falls in love with an American woman, defects. The second is about a Maori boy "with potential" who grows up faster than his ne're-do-well dad.

Hiking off the cheddar-and-onion chips

To deploy the vernacular, they've got some bloody big ferns here. L-r: the morning recon, figuring out the daily hike; we left in spring and arrived in autumn (yes, it's that far); when you're driving on the wrong side of the road, it's best to trail a blood van; few people, lots of places; la terroir; and our hike through the forest just after the one-lane Pelorus Bridge, one lane mind you on a national highway: next stop, the broad breast of the Pacific.

Our NZ home away from home

I give you the historic South Street Cottages and sights within easy walking distance. L-r: the dead-end street where we temporarily live; the big cathedral we use to find our way home; roofs of Nelson; how the dating game works here; lawn bowling on Sunday; our pertickuler cottage, #12; the stained glass peace dove on our front door; a view of the neighbor's place.

Next stop: New Zealand

L-r: preparation the morning of the 30-hr. flight. Simone wears her power socks and the mud mask. Virgin Air really is different, and it's not just the nightclub lighting and the tongue-in-cheeky cartoon safety instructions. Two big jets, a Valium and a couple of movies later, we land at the Auckland airport, near the top of the North Island. There's good zen advice on the street signs and a prop-driven puddle jumper to our final destination, the very artsy city of Nelson on the South Island.

Why I don't read evaluations

It's an important moment at conferences: the host begs, pleads, cajolés every attendee to fill out her (mostly her, in this industry) evaluation form "so we can tell whom to invite back and what to offer next year!" Because these are generally fundraisers, the plea has the weighty enthusiasm of a tank tread, grinding toward the front.

Caption: What I drink while waiting for the pain to subside. Harvey McKinnon confided to me at the international AFP conference held in Baltimore last week that "three percent of the population is mentally ill." He smiled. I smiled. I'm trying NOT to include myself in the three percent. I'm pretty sure Harvey knows where he stands.

He was reacting to my confession that I have stopped for the most part reading my workshop evaluations. Most of them, a preponderance, were favorable to HIGHLY favorable. To stalker favorable sometimes.

BUT ... there was always one. Or two. Or even three. Who'd wandered into the wrong session. Who groused. Who grumped. Who tipped poison across my magic mirror: "Who's the fairest in the land? You are...rrrggghhh I'm dying!" Individuals who felt BETTER saying their hateful things.

The comments, unexpurgated, unedited, from CASE/NAIS at the end of January 2010, where I was picked a "Faculty Star":

• There wasn't much time for questions, unfortunately. However, it was clear that Tom knew what he was talking about and based his suggestions on facts.
• Fantastic session with wonderful suggestions and tips!
• Very insightful and fresh.
• Great way to show communication plans for all of advancement.
• Great examples!
• Great session! This guy could be a keynote if his topic was general enough - engaging, humorous, and tons of great info.
• Highly profitable session. Lots of ideas and great reference to great other great communicators through quotes and concepts. Warm and funny guy -- helps the medicine go down. More, more, more of this kind of stimulating stuff.
• Lots of good examples. Seemed rushed but there was so much information to impart.
• Best session I attended!!
• Saw Tom's session in Denver also - hope he's in Chicago next year!
• He was FANTASTIC!
• Tom's comments are spot on and always bear repeating - although so much of it is really very straightforward and intuitive. I have taken many great suggestions with me.
• Felt that he was trying to sell his services. No specific information, just how amazing he was helping his clients. {SEE?!?}
• I really enjoyed this session. Tom is a great speaker. I learned a lot about communications and how to capture the attention of our constituents.
• This session was "rated" as being for mid-level professionals, but much of this was very, very basic . . .It was a primer on direct mail fundraising. Telling a group of professionals that donors like to be flattered or to use "you" in appeals was just much too basic. Speakers should keep in mind that this is an audience of professionals looking for one or two new ideas, not a rehash of the same old stuff. {SEE?!?}
• Great speaker! Funny, inspiring and honest!
• GREAT GREAT GREAT!!!
• This was the best session of the three days. I could have listened to Tom all day
• Great speaker. This was a very informative session.
• Mr. Ahern was good but somewhat slow in his presentation. I almost felt more like he was selling his services rather than giving us useful information.
• Some good take aways. Good presentation and keep everyone engaged.
• Although I had heard most of it before, it was a clever way to be reminded.
• Tom was a very dynamic presenter. He made the subject matter interesting and exciting.
• I am not sure he knew his audience. {SEE?!?}
• Great tips...
• Really found this session helpful and enjoyed this speaker.
• I've heard about him...and he lived up to the hype. I'd recommend him as a speaker and as a consultant.
• Great tips! Wow!
• Fabulous presenter! Perfect afternoon/post lunch placement for him. The time flew and he offered great advice on improving solicitation letters.
• Good suggestions and a good reminder about the importance of donor relations. Tom Ahern was focused, but he successfully infused humor and interest into his presentation.
• Great presentation
• So so good
• I learned a lot about writing stronger appeals from Tom.
• Found [it] rather generic - though admittedly highly informed - content too heavily reflecting the science and application of mass direct mail
• LOVED IT!!
• Tom did use some of the same examples as his presentations last year, however he obviously did a little more homework about Independent Schools. His presentation is lively and entertaining, and certainly interesting in his ideas for getting donors' attention.
• This was the most valuable presentation I attended. I have incorporated some of his ideas/advice into my work already.
• Entertaining, thought provoking, engaging. I picked up several ideas and want to call him when I get back to my school to have him help with my donor communications. I took more notes in this session than any other the entire conference!

Bye bye. I am pulled emotional taffy here!

Belfast novel almost done

It comes down to this. And after this? Lots more rewrites. What you just saw was an old draft....

Preparing for Asia Pacific Red Cross Red Crescent show

It looks like this on my screen, and I'm only half through.

Prep for 2 New Zealand fundraising conferences

I suspect, when you trim all the wire from the insulation, that there are only two motives for human action: (1) selfish motives, and (2) selfish motives that are misunderstood as unselfish. After all, what could be more selfish than paying good money to help create the world you want to live in? Which is what people do, when they donate to a cause or project.

Writing

You tell people you're a writer, because that's the industry classification, so reasonably they think you spend your time moving words around. It would look that way to an observer. But that's not the real stock in trade. Writers move ideas around, off the page and into brains. Words are just the clothing those ideas wear.

Life spans

In the early 20th century, the average lifespan was between 30-45 years. In medieval Britain, it was between 20-30 years of age. And now the CDC says an American-born male such as me will on average live for 79 years.

I assume I'm about in the middle. My father was. Maybe he was a bit above average; he had a freakish constitution that rejected disease. That's half me. My mother was susceptible to a bunch of things I'd have to be real friends wid chew to reveal. So I'm physiologically and genetically in the middle.

I "accused" Simone of spending too much time planning for "post-Tom." We're mortal. Ain't it grand? Immortals don't make art, at least not the same kind.