What We Choose to See

The Narrator goes off to work!

I was brought up short this past week while performing in the Koreshan State Historic Site's "Ghost Walk." This performance takes the audience back 120 years to the time when Dr. Cyrus A. Teed, a charismatic physician, led his followers from Chicago to Estero, Florida, to build "The New Jerusalem." 

Teed created this commune, based on the philosophies he had received from an illumination by god, who happened to be a mix of male and female.

My role in the production is as narrator. I introduce the concepts espoused by Teed and provide the audience with context to the times and to the hardships the commune went through. This involves dressing in a pretty formal suit, with bow tie and hat.

It was a constant surprise to me when my fellow volunteers would come up after the event to compliment me. "When you speak, it is with great authority," one guy said. "I didn't know you could do this!" Or another one, who said, "When you speak, people listen!"

Another woman told Jo, "He speaks so well. He has a nice voice. I didn't know he could speak like that" 

When I came away from this performance, I realized - once again - people see you in the context of what you do. They have seen me wandering around the campground in my electric cart, cleaning our campsites and, once a day, swabbing down bathrooms. Lost in the mix is the fact that speaking with authority comes pretty easy to me. 

No one - or very few people -  know my background in public speaking or even know my job as a publisher required me to sway the members of my board of directors four times a year. When I'd prepare my executive staff for our board meetings, I'd usually tell then, "It's Show Time!" Very few people have a sense that I was any more than a campground host. So they had pretty low expectations.

But there's a message in there for us all: Don't judge the person by the lowly position or the modest clothing.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare for my next eight performances of this year's Ghost Walk!