"You've slimmed down"

Music to my ears.  After having shed almost 20 pounds, it's nice to have it noticed.  Arriving in Regina last Thursday for the conference, I was thrilled to hear chair Michael Jackson utter those lovely words when he greeted me on the street as we checked in.  We stayed in the old-fashioned "Hotel Saskatchewan", one of the grande dames of the CPR chain, now owned by Fairmont.

"After you," said the HUGE gentleman holding the door as I walked in.  "Thank you, you guys must be football players," I joked.  "In our spare time," they replied.  I later learned they were members of the Argo's, in town for a final game with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.  Man, were they big!  And charming.  And polite.  I, of course, chatted shamelessly with all of them whenever I spied one in the lobby.  Had my picture taken with three or four.........will post later.   

Another gem:  the lobby bar of these old hotels.  What great places!  The food is great, the servers fabulous and the ambiance sublime.  Everyone walks through the lobby and many take a break in the bar. 

"Excuse me," I said to one perfect specimen sitting at the bar, "Are you with the Argo's?"  "Yes, M'am," he replied.  "Could I have your autograph please?"  Certainly.  He scribbled something unintelligible, so I asked him to print his name.  "Ejiro Kuale".  I then pronounced it and he was dumbfounded.  "You are the first person to pronounce my name correctly, ever," he said.  Ever?  Apparently, yes.  "Most people pronounce it "Koo-hail".  He was Nigerian, but raised in Florida.  "We have quite a few Nigerians in our parish and I guess I have picked up on name pronounciation here and there," I offered, thinking of our friends the Osakwe's -- Ejenna, the pharmacist, and Carlton, the economics prof at Mount Royal.  With that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two 50-yard-line tickets, row three, and invited us to the game as his guests.....and all because I pronounced his name correctly. 

Googled him and it says he was born in Daytona Beach, but really it was Nigeria.  He also played for the New Orleans Saints.  Also met and had my picture taken with Tony Washington and offensive coach James Stanley.  As B says, "Nancy talks to everyone."  True, how else can you meet people and learn new tidbits?!  Nonetheless, I am ashamed to say we watched the game from the comfort of the lobby bar; it was way too freezing to actually attend.

More about the conference tomorrow.............