There was a tradition in tsarist Russia to invite a general to a wedding. If you had a general among the wedding guests, it conferred status on you. Retired generals picked up a nice side income by attending the weddings of complete strangers for a fee.
I’m a wedding general at this conference in Portugal. I don’t do anything. I just sit there, snoozing. My name appears on the program and the poster, and that’s the extent of my involvement. Unlike a tsarist general, I don’t charge a fee. Yet.
The reason I got involved is because the organizers, whom I don’t know from Joâo, really wanted me to participate. I have such a packed schedule that it was easier to say yes than explain why not.
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