Day 177

Had an interesting few days in Philadelphia for work. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t in the city itself, but rather King of Prussia, PA, which is about 35 minutes outside of Philly. They put us up in this awful Radisson connected to the convention center. Everything was basically on site. Meetings, meals, etc. The food was good….good and terrible. Seriously, it was low grade dog food. I ordered room service after dinner one night and had Tasty Kakes from the gas station before the next night’s dinner. Friday night was the long awards dinner that ends with everyone usually going out for drinks. There was this cheese-ball dance club that was connected to the convention center called “Ice” that everyone ended up gathering at after dinner. As cheesy of a place as it was, it turned out to be a great time. It is funny to see everyone cut loose like that. Pretty much 60 or so of my client’s sales reps and the vendors like myself took over the place. Seeing overweight, out of shape, mid-50’s sales reps dancing was worth the lack of sleep I got. I was flying out the next morning at 6:30 am, so I stopped drinking around 12:30, knowing I would have to drive to the airport around 4:30. I ended up going to bed around 1:30. Luckily, I had plenty of time to nap Saturday late afternoon, and did so. Dave calls it “The TD nap zone.” It is on Saturday’s between 3-5 PM usually. This weekend, I added an hour to it.

While we are on the subject of flying, this blog is being typed on yet another flight, this time back to Chicago for my big mid-year review with my client. Since the foiled terrorist bombing plot, I have flown now three segments. Flying out of Cleveland is a snap. Security lines are rarely long, I park in the close garage for less than what the O’Hare long term lot costs, and the flights are rarely full. (By the way, on my flight out to Philly, I sat right next to Browns GM Phil Savage. 6 other front office guys, including Browns legend Paul Warfield were also on my flight). When flying back from Philly, the airport was a zoo, even at 5 am. I flew Continental and only because they aren’t a hub there, I was able to make my flight. Because I wear contacts, like to brush my teeth, and use hair gel, I had to check my bag. The line for bags at US Airways, a hub in Philly, was worse than security. Same for the sky cap. I waited in security for an hour. The whole thing is nuts. We are such a reactionary country, but I know it is the right move. Yes, having to check my bag pretty much every time is an inconvieniece for me, but I’ll deal. For this short trip to Chicago, I wore my glasses, brought my toothbrush, but will get toothpaste from the hotel – less time I have to wait at the airport.

Back to the Phil Savage story. When he sat down next to me, I decided I was going to leave him alone and only ask him a few questions. He was a nice guy, looks like Ron Howard, baseball hat and all. This doesn’t even compare to the time Roy Williams, the former KU basketball coach, now coach at North Carolina, sat next to me on my way to Vegas. For those of you who don’t know the story, I will recant. In September of 1999, I was flying on Southwest to Las Vegas for Pav’s bachelor party. It was one stop in Kansas City. When we get to KC, a new heard of people get on the plane. It was a full flight. I was on an aisle seat and when the “C” boarding group havd started to come through, on walked Roy Williams. I couldn’t believe it. Roy Williams, doing the cattle call on Southwest like everyone else? The middle seat next to me was empty. He walked towards my row and I said “Coach, I’ll take the middle, you can have the aisle.” He smiled, told me thank you, and sat down. I couldn’t have been more excited. I tried hard not to bug him, but it was tough. I mean, this guy was someone I have revered for years. When would I ever get the chance to have this forum wth him again? So I asked him a few questions. A few more. A few more. Then I decided I had to stop before I completely annoyed him to death. When we got off the plane, he walked to baggage claim and I saw him again. I had my camera and asked him to take a picture with me. He did. He shook my hand and said “it was a pleasure talking to you” and walked away. I got the picture developed and sent him two 8 x 10’s with a letter, telling him how much I appreciated meeting him and could he sign these pictures, one to me, and one to my dad. 6 days later – 6 – he got them back personalized “To Todd, best wishes, Roy Williams.” The other made out to my dad. All class that man. Now there are a ton of people in the KU fan base who think Roy is a traitor and will not root for him to do well. I am not one of those people. I am over my initial bitterness. I know he is corny, and some of his routine he puts out to the media is folksy, but I still love the guy.

Lastly, we had a great time down at the Jake Saturday night with Uncle Keith and Aunt Nancy. It is so nice that I actually enjoy spending time with my aunts and uncles the way I do. Not every family is this way, as I’m sure you all know. Even better was the Tribe’s comeback win 6-5 over the Royals, and our 6 game winning streak. Leah is now 2-0 at games and I told her that she is the good luck charm and may need to go to more games. Hahaha. I buried those mini-burgers again. They are the whup. Also, is there anything better than a hot dog with Stadium mustard (right P?) at a ball game? I think not. So good. I don’t care how bad the Tribe is, I just love being down at the Jake, sitting in the stands, and enjoying the game.

I am happy to report that I got an email from MD today saying that Jace had his first Soccer practice and he kicked ass! He was a star, wearing #7, and has his first game on Saturday. I love that kid....He is gonna be a soccer star like his uncle!

Days Until we move into the house: 17
Song of the Day: "Paid in Full" by Eric B. and Rakim