York Flower Show.
Friday, February 23, 1996

Prep and Set-Up.
Preparation and set-up is the worst and best of times, all rolled into one: frenetic pace, last minute things, forgotten things, return trips to other resources for miscellaneous items, back to the Show Hall, back again to the Garden Center...and so on.
Actually, I'm very lucky. I have a very creative and resourceful Landscape Foreman, Alan C. Miller of the famous York County Millers. His family has an ancestral connection with William Penn, I think. My family has some Millers in it on my Dad's side, so we're probably related somehow. Haven't figured it out yet. He's been with us for three years and is so good, I give him a free hand in most everything. To get him to work with us, I promised him that he could deliver sermons at the Crystal Cathedral on The Hour Of Power TV Show anytime, time permitting. Alan is an elder and deacon of his church. And very respected in the community.
Alan knows what my objectives and goals are and helps me meet them. He is responsible for setting up the large display in the double booth space, and directing the actions of our landscape crews assisting him. The results are amazing. I'm just responsible for having GTE to install a phone line in the Show Hall and getting my 586 Pentium on line. We are debuting our Web Page at the Show to thousands of people with cabin fever; a record crowd is expected. I also have to organize, label and price all the plant material for retail sale. I've invited my Landscape Designer, Michelle Wood to attend and press the flesh, also generating new business.

We're A Hit.

Being live on The Web in a crowd of 10,000 where 500-600 people are looking over your shoulder at every move of your mouse can be a little unnerving, but they're entranced. Most have never seen The Web. Many are hooked-up, on line somewhere and want your URL to see for themselves, when they can spend more time. All are amazed to see a local Garden Center & Nursery on The InterNet. Big deal. Been there, done that.
I prepared handouts that welcomed the public to our site; gave them out by the thousands in between conducting tours of the site and talking to prospective clients and current customers and friends. (The worst part of having my computer in public view is when I'm taking a break, some nerd who probably works on a junk-box Mac walks up, grabs the mouse and clicks on the Netscape What's Cool assom. A nasty sign doesn't even discourage twinkies like him. Luckily, there were only two.)
Thursday and Friday were slow; Saturday and Sunday it was non-stop all day. Thousands of people from all over Pennsylvania and Maryland. Everyone had enough of this lousy weather and wanted an eye- and nose-full to reclaim their senses. Me too.

Actually....

Even though this entry is dated Friday, I'm writing it on Sunday night after I've reassembled my Pentium back at the Garden Center, sometime after 9pm or so. I need to get back on The Web without the crowds.



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