I swear this is not a Stevie Wonder blog

A few months ago, I posted about the fact that Stevie Wonder had sent us his Treo for a few days. Last week I had a much closer encounter when I went to the annual CSUN conference in LA. The conference is held every year, and focuses on all types of disabilities, including technology for the blind. Apparently Stevie goes every year, and is pretty well known by most of the show regulars.

I was working in the booth of one of our partners when someone came over and asked if I could help Stevie change some of the settings on the phone. After introducing myself (I called him Stevie, since "Mr. Wonder" just sounds strange), I took a look at his Treo, changed the audio settings, and gave it back to him, explaining what I'd done so that he could change it again later. Since he was surrounded by people clamoring for his attention, I'm not sure he caught the whole explanation, but the very large guy that was accompanying him seemed to. After talking to him for a few minutes, he moved on to another booth with his entourage in tow.

The whole trip was pretty work-intensive, but I did manage to take advantage of the fact that I was in California on Saturday to do some quick shopping and visit the beach in Santa Monica. I would have liked to stop over at my parents' place in Ohio or make a quick trip up to SF (maybe to help Eric celebrate his 40th birthday), but in the end I had to settle for a suitcase full of english muffins and some chicken mole from Guelaguetza. Maybe I can manage a more leisurely trip the next time Stevie buys a new phone.