Orange County "Dining In The Dark" Event - PART 2 of 3

Green salads cupped around cucumber slices were already waiting for us when we sat at our table. Next to me was a member of the board and his wife. Turns out their son was striken with a disease that left him blind. But the gentleman didn't dwell on it. Instead he asked me brightly "Have you ever done this before?"

"No I haven't", I said.

"Oh, you're going to have fun!"

"I know!" I replied.

After awards were given out to two doctors and the CEO of Allergan, a woman stepped up to the lectern to give us an introduction on the evening ahead. First, all cellphones had to be turned off. No exceptions. The light from a single cellphone would ruin the experience for the nearly gym-sized ballroom, she explained.

Then she announced that they would turn off the lights for 30-seconds. This would be a dry run for those new to the experience -- taste of what's to come. Anyone who did not feel comfortable after the 30-seconds were up would have the choice to eat in a lighted area.

There was visible excitement in the room (soon to be just audible excitement) when the house lights went dimmer and dimmer. And then...complete darkness. The crowd burst into applause.

At that moment, a cellphone went off in the middle of the ballroom. Its light beam shot up to the ceiling like a searchlight sweeping the skies for enemy planes. Almost immediately, the room erupted in boos.

That would be the last time anyone in that room made that mistake.

When the lights went up again, the excitement was palpable. My date and I were ready to do this. Psyched actually. We had a list of "What if's" before we came.

"What if I spill something on someone? What if I poke my eye out with a fork?"

Now, it was game time.

TO BE CONCLUDED TOMORROW...IN PART 3!!!