Of Visits and Viewpoints

Today I went on an outing to a place I'd been before as an infiltrator, i.e. someone who didn't officially belong in the place, but who was pretending to. My role today was much more fun: VIP visitor. Part of the VIP visit was a tour. The tour itself was interesting, but I also found it interesting to imagine how my tour group and I looked to the other people we saw and to imagine things from their perspectives. For instance, we saw a few patrons of the establishment, the folks who come to utilize the services offered at the facility. True, I'd never been a patron of that particular facility, but I could imagine how a big tour group might look to them. Were they curious about why we were touring? Or were they just trying to be patient while we got out of their path? Then there were the tour guides, who were also workers at the facility. Although I've never done what they do, I could imagine how the rooms and equipment I saw must look different to them, since they actually work with the stuff rather than just order work done. I also saw a bunch of ordinary people, the folks who have a reason to be at the establishment but who weren't currently concerned with the area we were in. I wonder how many tour groups they see and whether they find them interesting. There were also helpers in charge of making the visit enjoyable for all us VIPs. I imagine that tour groups all start to look pretty much the same when you deal with group after group like they do. I went on my first VIP tour many years ago to a different facility in a completely different place. At that time, I didn't really appreciate how tour groups affect (or don't affect) the regulars at a place. And then I spent a few years watching other groups. I really do enjoy being in VIP groups. But I'm also okay with being one of the observers. Hope we didn't disrupt anyone's day too much.

Some random things I learned/saw on my visit: There is a University that has the same tune as the hymn Come Ye Children of the Lord as the tune for its school song. And it's NOT a school in Utah or even a religious school. Also, I saw a purple and green duck. Very interesting, to say the least. It looked black at first, but upon closer inspection its plumage was clearly dark green and dark purple. I wonder whether it's a natural phenomenon, or whether someone had a very bizarre sense of prankery (yes, spell check, I know it's not a regular word, but I like it anyway).

All in all a very interesting day. It was fun to be a VIP. And it was also fun to see the kids smile and get their hugs when we retrieved them from their babysitter.