Last week, I was intending to participate in a meeting of the Syracuse Camera Club for the first time. They were expected to have a guest speaker who was presenting on an subject the I have now since-forgotten. Obviously, I did not attend; the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa, and it was the first night in 2 months that the house was quiet. My time was better-spent ordering take-out and watching the Princess Bride.
It seems that the camera club meets three times per month (Wednesdays), so with February being a short month, there was a meeting on back-to-back days (back-to-back-to-back, inclusive of next week). It is one of the longest-running camera clubs in the country (dating back to the late-1800s).
On Wednesday, a member of the club was given the floor to share his images of a trip that he had made to Scotland 6-7 years ago. I believed that the meeting was beginning early this week, with the presentation scheduled for 7:00 and social zooming beginning at 6:30, so I logged in at 6:55, not looking to awkwardly intrude as a bystanding-avatar as folks caught-up online. Well that didn’t work out.
Before presenting at 7:30, the zoom call began at 7:00, so I was the 4th person in the meeting. Buddy, the moderator/president was very welcoming and chatted with me for a few minutes, giving me the low-down on the club and what to expect. His kindness was appreciated, and I would have done the same were I in his shoes, but I also didn’t want to take up any airtime from long-standing members, especially when this is likely a passionate social outlet for many of them during the pandemic, so I muted myself as soon as I could and quietly sat back.
By the end, there were approximately 25 participants. As I had suspected, I was (seemingly) the youngest, but perhaps not. The group was friendly, supportive, and resoundingly positive. I don’t know if it will offer what I am seeking, but it might still offer me something of value that I wasn’t looking for. This morning, I’ll write a small check, become a member, and find out.