Strawberry Festival – Change of Scene (Issue 738)

In which we are reminded to give our brains a break and change of scene, the better to generate ideas.

 “Are you ready to go?”

My wife and I were enjoying some sun, sitting at a picnic table in the midst of 150 folks ranging in age from a few days to deep in their decades, enjoying the Verrill Farm Annual Strawberry Festival (http://verrillfarm.com/) .

Behind us, a large green and white striped tent under which more filled picnic tables and a guitar player singing folk songs.

To our left, a que of about forty adults, each attending one to two children under the age of five, each waiting patiently for a 4 minute pony ride.

A few feet to our right, a table filled with strawberry themed desserts spied by the judicious eyes of four judges – the strawberry dessert contest, adult and children’s divisions.

And, just a little further in the distance, another queue of people waiting to purchase hot-off-the-grill cheeseburgers and hotdogs and freshly made strawberry shortcake with gobs of honest-to-goodness real whipped cream delivered from the farm stand kitchen in ten-gallon pails.

“Are you ready to go?” my wife asked, again.

Hardly hearing her, I was staring blankly at the dessert judges with occasional glances at an absolutely gorgeous, young Samoyed who SO wanted to play with the children who came to pet her.

Tummy sated with shortcake and strawberries, away from my desk, my back warmed by the sun, lulled by the surrounding happy Festival murmur punctuated by pediatric squeals, my head was quiet. No voice. Just peace…… peace….. peace……

Then, just for a moment, somewhere between the Samoyed and the seven layer strawberry cake on the contest table, I had an insight… an idea… an answer to a client’s question I’d been thinking about earlier in the week. … Just for a few seconds. And, then, it was gone.

My eyes refocused on the cake….

From the tent behind us, we heard the snap of a snare drum – someone playing a marching cadence.

“Shall we….?”

“Sure…..”

We walked slowly past the burger line to the farm stand, bought a quart of deep red (and, as it turned out) richly sweet strawberries, and headed back to the car where I recorded my seconds of insight on my cell phone.

Good to have a change of scene.

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