Late to See the Mann

I had to take two buses yesterday evening to get to the Warwick Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. I was going to see the lecture by Charles C. Mann, bestselling author of 1491 and 1493, who was scheduled to speak on "Uncovering the New World Columbus Created," at 7:30pm. I'd read the first of those two books, and history is one of my loves. So you can imagine my excitement.

I was late to catch the first of the two buses, which automatically put me thirty minutes late getting there. To make things worse, I'd never taken that bus, and it was my first time visiting UNCW. I had only a vague idea of how far it was from the bus stop to the Warwick Center. That it was night only compounded the issue.

Finally, at 8:05pm, I arrived at the Center with sweat trickling from my head from the walk. All I could do was hope they'd actually let me in. When I walked in though, it was strangely quiet and I only saw about four people. But then, in front of the empty ballroom, a sign was posted explaining that the lecture had been cancelled due to inclement weather in Philadelphia, which prevented him from making the flight to Wilmington. Are you kidding me?!

Of course I was disappointed. But the sign indicated the possibility that the author may be rescheduled. So it's still possible that I might be able to see Charles C. Mann speak. Even better, lesson learned, it's possible that I'll be on time for it!