Denmark, day one

The day after I arrived in Billund, Denmark, for some workshops and consulting with Lego, I was greeted by my friend and Chief Happiness Officer, Alexander Kjerulf, and a few of his many associates (from left to right: Mareike Bulow, Roosevelt Finlayson, your local funsmith, our Lego associate, Alexander, Michael Bech Bendix, and Bjarne Tveskov).

So we introduced each other to ourselves, and we shmoozed fascinatingly, and then, right in the middle of the Hotel Legoland lounge, we got up and played actual games.

Mr. Finlayson, it so happens, is from the Bahams, where he conducts programs he calls "Festival in the Workplace." His theory is that there is much for businesses to learn about the nature of work, just by recognizing the amazing amount of dedication and devotion that goes in to producing a Carnivale, all without salary or job title, all for fun. So, after we played my current most favorite of pointless games, Sound and Fury, he taught us one of his - a children's circle dance called Brown Girl.

And then we sat down, exhausted in glee, feeling as if we had known each other at least half a lifetime, and shmoozed some more,, until someone noticed that I was fighting myself to stay awake, and we hugged, and we took this picture, and we left each other amidst echoes of probably unforgettable delight.



from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith