On Saturday, June 6th, 2009 Rebecca and I attended the World Alpaca Conference held at the Cleveland International Exhibition and Convention Center in Ohio. LinkI'm a long time fan of trade shows - no matter the industry or niche. It's part of my world belief of keeping an open mind and exploring. You'll never know what you'll find or who'll meet. This event was a real treat. In addition to just learning about all things related to the different facets of this industry, they had alpacas there. It was part trade show, part animal show, part family get together. At the lunch counter, some people were brokering deals worth thousands of dollars while a few seats away little ones were playing with alpaca finger puppets. It was interesting all around.
Rebecca and I walked to the back part of the Convention Center to watch a few alpacas being sheered. The alpacas didn't seem to mind. They were quiet and still. Afterwards they were led peacefully away. The incredible stillness and apparent serenity of the animals overall really struck me. The massive conference site was full of people noise not the animals. From an animal standpoint, it was a strange environment filled with weird people, smells of all sorts, and other animals. You would think they would be going nuts or at least be skittish. I came away thinking if anything is a model for a Zen nature it's an alpaca.
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