Though several serendipitous occasions, I was fortunate enough to learn of TEDx Rapid City’s annual TEDx event, which occurs every early summer in Rapid City, South Dakota.

I’ve an affinity for South Dakota for a few good reasons:

First, one of my oldest and dearest friends lives there

Secondly, my fiction book series takes place in 19^th century Dakota Territory

Also, I have an enormous softness in my heart for the Plains tribes, and have been learning Lakota for over a year (I am pretty sure my children remember more words than I do . . . )

And I’m all about American everything, which is a big part of the culture in South Dakota

Now I have another fun fact to add to that list: South Dakota was the place I was chosen to do a TEDx talk on being a woman in a male dominated field. I spoke about how to save both vintage and modern metal crafts from disappearing from the American culture. It is, in my humble opinion, important we recognize the dying art of metal knowledge, and that we save it before we need to go elsewhere to have copper pots made should we so desire it. (You knew this was going to come back to copper cookware!)

Apparently I made an inadvertent sex joke somewhere in there – entirely without preamble or meaning to – it just came out and I only recognized it for what it was about three days later after re-hashing the talk in my head again. But a little comedy helps a topic go over.

Many thanks to the TEDx team for choosing this speech!