This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Changing the Way We Eat — A Reflection

A message that seems simple to some can changes lives of others.

The only real glitch on the whole trip was the train ride there.

A freight train derailed east of Toledo, spilling something nasty on the track. The hazmat team closed the line, so we rode through the night from Toledo to Pittsburgh on busses, sitting bolt upright. The lady in the seat next to me was a pleasant but incessant talker, so no sleep was to be had, my sleeper compartment wasted.

I arrived at Penn Station last Thursday feeling shopworn and grungy.

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fortunately, I had a day to recover prior to the Friday afternoon rehearsal. The Times Center broadcast facility, part of the N.Y. Times Complex, seats 378 people. The stage is wide and fairly deep, with a large screen for visuals covering a substantial portion of the upstage wall. There was a clear acrylic lectern available, but I didn’t use it. 

I was glad to see a footlight monitor so I could see which visual was onscreen without turning my back to the audience. A sound guy rigged up a lapel mic and transmitter. The stage manager handed me a beeper to control the slides. We did a quick sound check while I ran through about the first two minutes of my presentation. It felt nerve wracking, plus there was no audience, so no energy was coming back my way.

Find out what's happening in Port Washington-Saukvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Looking up over the missing crowd I could see a broad expanse of glass fronting the control booth and long-range cameras. Stage center at the footlights stood a single close-up camera and camera guy. Everyone wore headsets except me. In the middle of the control booth window was a very large digital display clock, counting relentlessly backwards to zero. 

We had been warned, “Woe be unto the person who goes beyond the allotted time.” 

I had 27 slides in 10 minutes or slightly over 20 sec. per slide, except some needed more time and a few needed only five seconds or so to explain, so the only thing to do was feel for the pace and get it right. 

Yikes!

Saturday, Game Day, the house was full; almost every speaker used notes except the guy immediately before me, Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. Pacelle is a class act with an important story to tell, and tell it well he did. Included, of course, was a lot of painful information about the treatment of farm animals, which — in too many instances — is appalling. He pulled no punches. The audience seemed subdued and introspective by the end of his speech. 

A thought crossed my mind: Painting a graphic picture of the plight of returning veterans may make the audience members catatonic.

I opted instead to be as upbeat as possible, telling a story of vets helping vets, figuring out how to find our way home and be at peace with ourselves and the world around us. It wasn’t hard. 

I had a brief spell of nerves just prior to walking onstage, but I always do. It’s the fuel that feeds the fire. Plus ,I felt the audience engage with me very early on. 

I ran over my allotted time by about 10 seconds. The earth didn’t crumble. No one was upset. At the end, the crowd erupted. 

I walked offstage and Laurie David (Mistress of Ceremonies, Oscar Winning Producer of “An Inconvenient Truth”) pushed me back onstage for a second bow. 

I knew the applause was all about the Organic Therapy Program. The idea of old vets like me, Mr. Sims and K’uu working through issues with newer guys in a garden seems to resonate with people. I told them, "Nothing is more optimistic than planting a garden," a statement that has subsequently gone viral on Twitter. 

Seems like common sense to me, but I guess others find it to be profound. No matter. What’s important is that we find ways to help the people who are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan readjust and make their way forward as gracefully as possible. Some of them are carrying a massive load.

I’d like to share a link to TEDxManhattan, but the presentations aren’t posted as of this moment.  I understand they are being edited, translated and overdubbed into several languages prior to posting.  None-the-less it will be soon.  If you are interested, visit the site and check back regularly until the lectures appear.  You will see and hear great information about "Changing the Way We Eat" delivered by a panel of speakers at the top of their respective fields of endeavor, plus one guy from Port Washington.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Port Washington-Saukville