Water logging
Dateline: In the Shire, Indiana, 21 August 2005
Wonderfully slow weekend after a fast jaunt to Atlanta and back on Friday-Saturday.
I flew down to Atlanta Friday afternoon to fulfill my promise made just a couple of weeks ago to Lt. Gen. Helmly, the head of the Army Reserve, in his office in the Pentagon. The audience was the senior officers of the Army Reserve, at their annual "stand down" conclave. The event occurred on Saturday, but began on Friday with a special dinner at the Crowne Plaza not far from the airport. It wasn't supposed to be anything but a no-host social until Helmly turned it into my show.
Helmly wasn't there for the brief, because he scored a meeting with the Secretary of the Army late that afternoon. However, I did meet a number of officers I've interacted with over the years, including the current head of the Army Reserve in New England, who came to visit me at the college last year and coincidentally lives just down the road in Columbus Indiana.
I was a bit nervous to do the brief, because I hadn't given it in almost two weeks and that's an eternity for me, but it was a very receptive audience. I went over in my time, as usual, but the questions were sharp afterward (again, making me feel good about what I've put together in Blueprint for Action) and even though I started at 2030, I didn't get back to my room until almost 2300.
Saturday ends up being a blur. Back in Indy by 1030, and then I check out the construction site, where the basement is all framed in and the joists are completed above, with most covered by a base flooring that allowed me to walk the first floor in an abstract sort of way. Then home to work the apartment, a trip to the comic book store with the kids, Saturday eve mass, and then I chaperone older daughter at a dance put on by the diocese that pulled in junior high-age kids from all over greater Indy.
Today was one long pool break at my mother-in-law's, plus a golfing lesson from father-in-law for me and my two oldest as we whacked multiple bags at the driving range. A day of a lot of fun with no purpose beyond hanging out with my kids and inventing as many silly opportunities for play as possible.
Tomorrow's newsletter is a biggie for me: big announcement of a big change. Possibly a major turning point in my career as I continue to make it up.
Here's the weekend catch:
■ The peaking of oil revisited■ Shrinking the Gap is all about discounting the future threat
■ Bush's alternative rule set on the ICC