Tuesday afternoon: I arrive at SLC airport to find a sea of smiling faces on folks wielding bunches of balloons and banners saying “Welcome Home Elder So-and-So”. I immediately think to myself: This is the right place!
Tuesday afternoon (continued): I arrive at the campus guest-house, and set up the computer my brother lent me so I can write SiOB before Sunstone begins (or, more precisely, TiOB).
Tuesday afternoon (continued): I realize that it is, in fact, Pioneer Day, and it would be beyond lame of me to read about it on the Internet from my room when I could go see it in person!!
Tuesday afternoon (continued): TRAX system: very cool, but surprisingly confusing for a tram system with only three lines. For example, since the name of the nearest stop (as listed on maps and in the tram) is “Fort Douglas”, it would have been helpful if the name “Fort Douglas” were posted somewhere on/at the stop itself.
Tuesday afternoon (continued): I take the tram downtown to Main Street Plaza and Temple Square. The familiar sign that graces our masthead was there, but nothing about Pioneer Day at all. No one in pioneer attire, and no apparent posted signs indicating when/where/whether there would be a Pioneer Day celebration.
Tuesday afternoon (continued): I decide: It must be at “Pioneer Park”, so I set off for the park, passing through the lovely new mall.
Tuesday afternoon (continued): At the park: still nothing. Well, nothing except lots of friendly homeless people sleeping under trees. Some sort of concert stage is set up, but there’s no indication that it has anything to do with Pioneer Day. I begin to wonder whether it really is Pioneer Day.
Tuesday afternoon (continued): I walk back to the tram stop, where the vacation schedule lists today as “Pioneer Day”. I wonder if the celebration was only in the morning or if there will be something later tonight. Don’t care enough to come back later to check.
Tuesday afternoon (continued): I go back to my room and hole up like a hermit writing TiOB.
Tuesday evening: The only restaurant in the area is a student cafeteria. I fear the worst. Result: could be better, could be worse. I hope to find a better restaurant tomorrow.
Tuesday evening: Done with TiOB, still hermiting. I vow to be more social tomorrow. Anyway, I’m kind of a morning person…
That’s really odd. Maybe the celebrations are only in certain areas?
@1 It turns out that the parade was in the morning, and, sadly, I didn’t arrive until afternoon.
BTW, I jokingly live-blogged the 0th day for fun, but I’m not sure I can live-blog the whole thing — largely because I’m going to be spending a lot of time manning the Mormon Alumni Association Book table, so I can’t attend all the sessions.
But it’s been really fun so far!! I’ve met tons of people so far, including John Williams (whose interview appeared in City Weekly yesterday), Holly Welker, Andrew S (as you see @2), John Hamer, John Dehlin, Ellen Decoo, Mary Ellen Robertson (naturally), Stephen Carter, Barbara Hanks, and a whole bunch of other cool people!
I’ll try to add updates as I can.
I’m all for live-blogging. Please, more!
I went to to sessions yesterday, and they were both fantastic! I saw the papers by Rachel M. Whipple and Parker Blount on reading the Book of Mormon as fiction and fable, and I saw John Dehlin and Bill Bradshaw present the data from John Dehlin’s PhD thesis study on LGBT Mormons.
I wish I had more time to write them up — I stayed up late into the night last night preparing and practicing my remarks for the three panels I’m on. I hate to write one or two sentences of impressions of each one, but I took notes and I’ll write about them as soon as I get the chance.
Thinking about you and hoping that all is going well with your panel sessions! We are greedy for information, but the reason you are there is to participate, not to let us live vicariously through you!
Keep having fun, and let us know the highlights when all the stress and excitement is done.
🙂 Julia
I just posted two of my three Sunstone panel presentations: Criticism and My Vagina Testimony!!