Early we left Oklahoma City into a day of long miles bouncing north and south to wind our way East to Atlanta. The south slept and we slipped through the silence a little faster than we normally do but there is an energy that comes from driving head long into dawn. Suzie bit a 550-mile chunk out of the day which probably included more distance that she’s driven in every other car combined and I batted at sleep. We arrived around 7 PM and Suzie set to making herself presentable for an evening outing and I chose what pieces of camera equipment would join me. The 24-70 won and we shot south into Atlanta and the convention incubating in its downtown.

Atlanta is entirely unexplored to me, subject to a history club trip when I was in 11th grade and revisited later to see Reuben. The city has a history but exudes little sense of it as the downtown was revamped over the last 20 years. The city is going through a demographic shift and economic boom which are rewriting its character and this transition has a feeling of blandness over excitement. Think of the crystalis period of a moth vs. having a teenager.

Dragon*Con on the other hand had an energy all its own and after parking I walked to the registration building passing pockets of oddity. The event is overwhelmingly a volunteer effort with three paid staff and hundreds of primary volunteers with a thousand ancillary ones. I wanted to know if I could register other people for an event day and the answer was always a variant of “I think so”, a phrase I appreciate for its eagerness but loathe for its truth. I asked my way up until I met with the head of registration services. We chatted.

Me: So why do you do this?
Her: Volunteer?
Me: Yes.
Her: The stories. Earlier a man reported to the police that someone had tried to mug him with a small knife. The cop asked him if he was harmed, and he replied by pulling back his cape to reveal his chain mail and claymore. He replied “no, just wanted you to know”.
Me: Interesting.
Her: Why do you ask?
Me: Curiosity. Reasons for volunteering tend to be varied albeit not as much as the volunteers.
Her: You should talk to our media department. They’re always looking for people with good equipment. Do you volunteer for other things?
Me: You could say that.

I did a few laps of the Hyatt taking pictures, re-united with Suzie and retired to Reuben’s.

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