This Tea Party takes place in available
hotel space and momentarily turns
dislocation into a site of one's own.
Participants are asked to bring an
object that signifies a memorable and
sustaining experience. A story is told
about this and the object is
photographed within the hotel context.

Roza: "When I was 14, I got my
first camera and had fun photographing
my friends. Now I always keep pictures
of my family in the camera."

Susan Schaefer: "My grandmother
gave me this necklace for my high school
graduation, that she bought when
visiting us in Turkey. Nothing was wrong
with my Dad when she was there but he
died three months after she left.

Jo Ann: "This is my friend's
favorite candy and I'm bringing it to
her. We've been friends for over 20
years, she's the kindest person I ever
met and I can tell her everything."

Chris: "Memories of good, good,
friends."

Laura: I can't function without coffee
in the morning. It's a ritual."

P. Robinson: "Money is my
freedom."

Jason M: "My daughter gave me this
good-luck bear when she was four. She's
24 now and, a couple of years ago, she
found out I still have it. I've never
been unlucky and nobody in my family has
died except for my sister-in-law's
husband. He vanished in the Alps.

Jurgen Tolido: "Whenever I fly, I
carry this photograph of my uncle. He
was in the Dutch Air Force and was
killed in a crash. After 9/11, I adopted
him as my guardian angel and also gave
my wife a copy of this photo. I figure
that one Tolido dying in a crash is
enough.

Kay: "This Blessed Mother Medal is
my favorite necklace. My sister got it
for me in Rome, and it's been blessed by
the Pope."

Kim Sieberts: "My phone is
everything to me. It's my office and
personal assistant, my recreation,
family album and source of information.
I don't even buy the paper
anymore."

Angie: "Make-up makes me feel
feminine and sexy - the whole process of
'getting ready.'"

Allen: "I love the game, I love
being a spectator - the beer, the food,
everything. And I believe there are
better way to spend the public's money
than tearing down old stadiums."

Anna: "I'm grateful to be living in
a time and place where anti-depressants
are available. If I'd caved in earlier,
years and years of unnecessary pain
might have been prevented."

Heather Poole: "I've subscribed to
this magazine for years and don't read
it but, when I look at it, I feel like
blogging. In the last six months, my
blog had more than a million hits."

Steve: "My passport opens up most
countries in the world to me, not all
but most."

Anthony: "Working out makes me feel
so good, I get high."

Giovanni Von Essen: "I dreamed of
Paris since I was in high school and
just returned from living there for two
years with my daughters. When my husband
and I separated, we sold our house just
before the housing market collapsed and
I spent that money in Paris. I'm in debt
now but no regrets."

Eric Hodgson: "The gym - because I
can! After two heart attacks and a
kidney transplant."

Cynthia Matzke: "Swimming with
dolphins after a bad breakup turned me
into a marine biologist and an animal
rights activist."

Blaine Reed: "When I was still in
Boise teaching ballroom dancing, I
became great friends with a woman much
older than me, in her 40's. One day, out
of the blue, she gave me this ring that
I'd desired for a long time. You just
never know what will happen to you in
life."

Trenton Flock: "One night, I was
offered a Japanese art object, presented
in this purse, in exchange for singing
in front of a large group of strangers.
I did and it was wonderful. I can't find
the object right now but the experience
is still with me."

Andrew Havlis: "The writing of
Willliam T. Vollman opened up my eyes to
subcultures and my desire to explore
radically different environments. I've
been doing that for a while now."

Patrick Kreienbrinck: "Sometimes a
character emerges within me and stays,
like 2 Pence Poof Nancy Lady Lady. She
tends to get drunk during lunch breaks
and doesn't always return to the office.
Instead, she might head to the nearest
pool and swim naked."

Cathy Willett: "Kenny G's Christmas
album got me through the holidays away
from my family."

Mike Mecklenburg: "The intelligent
way Barack Obama absorbs and applies the
lessons of his life, made me volunteer
to work on his campaign."