Chapter 11

The meeting ended yesterday, but a number of delegates intended to use today to discuss possible content for the agreement. Alicia, Phyllis, Madge and I decided we would all join the delegates to moderate their conversations.

Dani and Kiara joined us for breakfast, and Kiara said, “We didn’t take notes during the conversation yesterday afternoon. Since today’s conversation seems like it will focus on things to be in the agreement, do you want us to take notes for our use?”

Alicia said, “Yes. That would be a good idea, and we can add appropriate agenda items for those topics.”

I said, “I agree. I think we need to solicit ideas for topics from other sources, such as President Kelt’s office. Perhaps it would be a good idea to include an open offer for suggestions from all the countries as to the subjects the agenda should cover when they notify us of whether they will attend the next meeting.”

Phyllis said, “With more input, we should be able to predict how long the meeting will last. With as many topics on the agenda as possible, the delegates can consult with their leaders as to what their position should be on each topic. The result will be less confusion during the meeting.”

I said, “Dani, start preparing a cover letter for the meeting minutes and attachments. Include the vote distribution and the invitation for suggestions. Right now, it is time for us to head for the meeting tent.”

The delegates had a good conversation and they asked us and Simon’s people to add our views to their discussions. There was no structure for the gathering so we took a lunch break when we were ready. We ended the discussion around four, so the delegates could return to the base and prepare to go home; a few delegates had reservations to depart from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this evening.

Dani and Kiara left to spend the evening and next three days with their families. The rest of us returned to the house. The ladies had started two crock-pots of chili this morning, so we were greeted by the aroma of our dinner. We had a late lunch, but no one was very hungry. We all collapsed in the living room; it had been a mentally exhausting day. No one was interested in discussing business; we just wanted to relax. Over the next hour, there was a brief discussion about what we had to do before the next meeting, and whether those things could be deferred to Monday. The consensus was there wasn’t anything so critical that it couldn’t wait for Monday.

Around six, we and the breakfast club helped ourselves to some chili, saltine crackers or bread and butter, and something to drink. During the next two hours, we sat around the dining room table, ate our chili, drank coffee, and talked about what we should do this weekend. Different people wanted to do different things, so we agreed to go our separate ways. We still had extremists in the area, so we would travel in groups. Everyone went home by eight.

Once the breakfast club left, my ladies and I discussed what to do tomorrow. We agreed to discuss the personal business tasks we identified earlier this week tomorrow morning. For the rest of the evening, we sat and talked about our impression of the meeting, and identified a few of the lessons we had learned. Overall, we were happy with the way the meeting went, and we agree the lessons learned should be used in preparing for and conducting the next meeting.

We decided on an early evening and went upstairs to clean up and go to sleep. No we didn’t go to sleep right away and there was some screaming.

Paul and Simon set up a combined field kitchen for their people over the weekend. On Monday, the officer in charge of the meeting’s field kitchen received orders for him and his people to return to their base with their equipment; they left Tuesday afternoon.

During the week, Plim Sanitary Equipment picked up their porta potties. All of the tables, chairs, and equipment we had rented was picked up by the respective vendors. We let them know we would need their equipment again in about a year. We also informed them of our estimate of the quantities of items that would be needed to support the next meeting.