Writing from the Road… June 6, 2008
CMM June 6th, 2008
Personal post. I don’t think you’ll find anything business oriented in this writing.
This weekend gives me the opportunity to participate in the wedding of a close friend. This is kind of a special wedding for a couple of reasons. First, this friend is someone that I met a few years back when we both worked in Washington, DC for LeadAmerica. Almost from the start our mutual interests tied us together… baseball, country music, and the outdoors. Regardless of the distance, we remained very close friends and our paths have found a way of crossing from time to time. When he called me around 16 months ago at around 1am and informed me that he had bought a wedding ring, I was both excited and astonished. This was, after all, one of the friends that I expected to hold Fort Bachelor until the very last possible moments. After years of patience by his girlfriend (and some careful coaching by his father), he accepted that he was ready to take his relationship to the next level. The second reason this is a special wedding is because it is located in middle-of-nowhere Iowa. Getting here required two flights, a shuttle, and a four hour car ride.
So here I am, sitting in a deli in downtown Milwaukee enjoying a cup of coffee and free wifi. Across the street, another old friend is wrapping up his day as an associate in a law office. Once he gets off work, we’re loading up and driving four hours to the middle-of-nowhere Iowa to our friend’s wedding. It will be a fantastic weekend, and I am very glad I was able to make the trip.
My trip up was a little adventure, with an exceptionally long flight. It allowed me to finish the book I was reading– The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I’m not gonna lie, I had to fight back tears a couple of times. I moved on to Little Green Men by Chris Buckley, my favorite modern political satirist. I also managed to tear through the Wall St. Journal, which had a very interesting but brief comparison of John McCain and Barack Obama. Lastly, Knoxville received mention in national news twice. First, it was the subject of a New York Times travel article on the wonders of Knoxville. We even got a new nickname– The Couch. Second, one of our local companies, Goody’s, is rumored to be filing for Chapter 11. Now to be clear, Chapter 11 is not lock the doors and liquidate the assets; it is more accurately described as a court assisted reorganization and debt forgiveness. Regardless, I hope it isn’t too upsetting to the many locals that report to work at the headquarters in West Knoxville or the many stores across the nation.
Lastly, I left The Girl in Knoxville with our new dog, Gibson the Beagle (named after the guitar company). So far, getting him oriented into our situation has been very rewarding and fun. He came from the pound and was taken from an abusive situation. Having him with us and showering him with love and care has really helped this shy little boy to develop a personality. He is already recognizing that he is a part of our “pack.” I miss The Girl and The Pup… but I think I’ll be okay for the weekend. 
The Girl and the pup miss you too:) We will shower you with love on Sunday.
I bought “The Last Lecture” for my niece for a Graduation gift. I thought it was appropriate due to her Uncle (my late husband, who was like a father to her) passing away at the beginning of her Freshman Year. It’s a phenomenal book… really makes you think. And that’s what I like in literature.