Silent auction

Our staff donated this ceramic tray
depicting a dinosaur reading a newspaper comics section
created by Yours Truly on your behalf.

   There was an amazing variety of stuff at the silent auction to raise funds for scholarships. For example, underwear. Boots. Liquor. Socks. Jewelry. Tea. Three tubes of facial moisturizer valued at $1,400. Prints of photos from iconic moments in Civil Rights. And book and books and books and books.

   I got a nice bathrobe for $35. I needed a bathrobe, because the shoulder pads in my 30-year-old pink chenille are wearing thin.
   But I was informed last night that shoulder pads are coming back in. In another month, expect a sudden shift in my daily wardrobe toward newly hip retro business suits.

   Afterward, we piled into Diane Cowen's car and went to La V, a Vietnamese fusion place where all the prices end in 40 cents. I learned that "Shrimp Crush" is shrimp that have been pounded flat, breaded and fried.
   But I liked the chopsticks.

This, Oh Wary Traveler, is Shrimp Crush

Anne Tallent of Baltimore Sun is one of my favorite conference people.

Disturbing sign on trashcan in ladies room at La V