The one where I impress a Nobel Laureate

 I had an interesting night. The University had a Nobel Prize winner as their featured lecturer, which is the kind of stuff I normally love and had expected more of than UND has offered in the past 2 years, so this was cool. The Dean invited me to the pre-lecture reception, which I was excited about. However, at the last minute she couldn't go (sort of doubly sucked because I skipped the french fry feed so I would be ready at exactly 5:30 - if she had told me earlier that she couldn't go, I could have gone to the park before the reception). I chatted with a few people at the reception, including a real sour woman who apparently attends the synagogue, though I don't remember talking to her there.  Mostly it was listening to people talk and smiling politely, my favorite activity. The food was decent, though - roasted veggies and chicken skewers and fancy hummus, which I could eat (and a bunch of stuff I couldn't eat). 

The 2nd person I spoke with was the director of the Global Friends, which is the refugee resettlement org in GF. She is older than me and still fighting the good fight. At one point, I asked her how she stays optimistic when everything we have worked for our whole lives is being attacked. Shortly after that, she said she was going to chat with the guest speaker and she ws gonna ask her my question. Whatever, I didn't think much about it. (She also made a comment about how honest I was, which is, if I am counting correctly, the 4th person who has said this to me in as many weeks. Pretty pathetic that this is a trait that gets remarked upon. How much dishonesty is out there?)

Anyway. Fast forward to the end of the lecture (which was just okay). At the end of the Q&A, the speaker said she was going to ask herself a question because it was the best question she had been asked, at the dinner earlier that night. Imagine my surprise: she wanted to tell us how she stays optimistic! Wow! It made up for how desultory and disappointing the rest of the night had been - just knowing that my question had filtered to her and been meaningful enough to remark upon. Pretty great (for all the good it does me).