Getting Back to In-Person

On March 11, I gave a talk on Harriet Jacobs and Julia Wilbur at the Lee-Fendall House Museum—in person. Not on Zoom! Not on Facebook Live!

The museum director contacted me late last year about a series of talks she was putting together on Civil War medicine in Alexandria. (The house itself became Grosvenor Hospital for several years.) I agreed, half expecting it to become virtual, especially when omicron hit in December and January.

But, as of early March, we were on—with advance reservations and required masks. It was hard to get motivated, even though I had an already-prepared set of slides that I could use with some revisions and additions. I put it together and printed out my notes the week before. But my week was super-busy, and I could not bring myself to try the presentation out loud (which I really need to do before I give a talk).

Finally, Friday afternoon, I practiced once myself and once to my husband. And I sounded…..flat. But, oh well, I figured. Time to get my sea legs back, better than nothing.

About 15 people came (almost capacity, given the size of the space and social distancing). And a funny thing happened.

It was fun! Bad weather was forecast for the next day, but the evening was pleasant. Everyone wanted to be there. All were interested in history, but none knew about either women. Some were visiting (including three people who live in North Carolina, not too far from Harriet Jacobs’s birthplace of Edenton), others locals. Audience members kept their masks on but, with their concordance, I took mine off to speak behind the lectern.

And guess what? Even though we have more or less refined the Zoom thing, there is something about sharing knowledge in person. We all felt it.