As I was running through Terminal A to escape Newark tonight, I saw this lone recognizable figure headed my way. I knew in an instant it was Bill Murray. He looked exactly as I would have expected. Obviously grizzled from a long flight with about 2-3 days worth of a 5 o'clock shadow.
I stopped him.
Jesus, I had to. It was Todd DiLaMuca for chrissake!! It was all I could not to give him a noogie.
I politely told him I was huge fan. I then gushed, "This is better than meting the Pope!" Which was an odd thing to say considering I'm not Catholic.
But just then he looks up with that wry, half smile that everyone has come to associate with Bill Murray, and in his best Carl Spackler says, "Well, you meet one Pope, you've pretty much met 'em all. And the new Pope . . . well he's not too chatty." Classic Bill Murray. I damn near passed out.
Then he says, "You gotta business card or something?" I couldn't get it out fast enough, all the while thinking John Winger wants MY business card!! I hand it to him, he signs it, hands it back to me, shakes my hand and says, "Have a good flight. Thanks for stopping me to say 'hi'."
My life is complete. Goonga . . . goonga galoonga.
I'm in Newark, NJ for work today and tomorrow. In reality, it's one of those business trips when you're not exactly sure when you may get to go home. The negotiations may last 3 minutes, 3 hours or 3 days. Too soon to tell, but I'm hoping for the happy medium.
When you're on such an unpredictable excursion, it's always nice to either (1) be with someone or (2) be someplace interesting (or at least active). Well, I am alone and unfortunately Newark isn't on my Top 50 list of "had to see before I check out" locales. Sidebar: People think Pittsburgh is dull, gray and rundown?? This place is a freakin' disaster. Something right out of a Rated M for mature video game. I've never seen the game Grand Theft Auto, but I suspect that it is based - in large part - on Newark's leading industry and contains some of its better scenery..
Now I realize that I'm only a $50 cab ride from the busiest city in the universe, but unfortunately even NYC when you're alone isn't much fun. Most of the guys that I know that used to live in NYC have matured to CT or NJ. Or, if they still live in the City, they work till midnight or have other things going on. Frankly, I can't even think of anyone to call.
Plus, when I travel, I cannot eat alone in a restaurant. Just can't do it. Instead, I camp out at the bar and watch ESPN while bending the ear of the bartender. I've noticed, however, that Big Apple bartenders aren't long on the conversation. I'm just another out of town lawyer, wasting their time - or so it seems.
I guess you've reached the pinnacle of middle age (or the downside of your career) when you seek out the hotel's Business Center to surf the Internet. Truth be told, I'm just killing time before I grab a seat in the hotel bar & grill for a Miller Lite and the chicken tenders - the only safe business travel food. Hotels cannot screw up chicken tenders, right?
Well, at .63 cents a minute, this may be the most expensive blog entry of my young career. Here's hoping I see Pittsburgh again before March . . .
This weekend my wife took a long-awaited and much deserved solo vacation to Florida. Her agenda looked something like this:
Thursday: Do nothing but sit by the pool.
Friday: Do nothing but sit on the beach
Saturday: Do nothing but sit by the pool then the beach
Sunday: Panic. Come home.
To most, this sounds relatively boring and unadventurous. But you see, we have three kids (11, 9 and 4).
For those of you that are parents, and especially mothers, you can certainly appreciate the unbridled joy of doing absolutely nothing for 4 days. Zero, zip, nada.
When people ask me if my wife works, I tell them that she is a Domestic Air Traffic Controller. The calendar in our kitchen looks like the logistics department at FedEx. Between school events, doctor/dentist appointments, sports, brithday parties, her own suburban housewife functions, etc., you can barely make out the day of the week.
I'm currently on Day 4 of filling in in her world . . . The house is at DEFCON 4. The slightest noise sends me into a rage. If I hear, "Daaaad, I'm hungry" or "Daaad, Jake won't give me the remote" or "Daaad, can I call [insert kid's name here] to see if he can play" one more time . . . .
This is work. Hard work. I feel like I have done the dishes 10 times since Thursday and the sink is still full. Everytime I turn around I'm sweeping something off of the floor or putting toys away. Where do they all come from? And when does my wife even think about making the beds? I'm convinced she hires someone to do that . . . she has to!
Congress should spend less time discussing an increase in the minimum wage, and more time finding a way to pay mothers. Seriously. There is no more noble a profession. These women have perhaps the greatest impact on the future of our country. They shape the minds of these kids, for better or for worse. I know for certain that if I did this every day, sunrise to sunset, my kids would hate me. Truly, they would. To survive in this environment day in and day out without resorting to violence is phenomenal.
Over the past 96 hours, I have come to appreciate my wife on a whole new level. I now understand why I get the phone calls at 6:30, wondering (but never demanding) when I'll be home. Amazingly, she nevers whines and complains when I'm having a beer after work. She's a rock.
We (and especially I) miss you Mom, and we hope you had a great time doing nothing.
For several weeks now, my friend Mike has been blogging. It makes sense for him. After all he's a normal Pittsburgh guy turned West Coast tech guru. Mike and his brother, and few others from our collective hometown, have created a wildly successful news website known as Topix. When Mike began blogging, I chuckled. To me, it has always been sort of squirrelly computer thing to do. However, Mike suggested that it is like having a online diary that, if he sticks with it, he'll be able to look back on it for many years to come . . . an online This is Your Life, if you will.
Well, I've always enjoyed writing (perhaps more than my day job), and since the local rag won't give me my own column, I've decided to succomb to the world of blogs. Provided I stick with it, this will be a home for my thoughts, musings and ideas. I'm not really a pro at anything. But I'm happy to share my thoughts on parenting, sports, current events, and generally anything that comes to mind. As my friends and family will concur, I'm not short on opinions.
I never thought I'd say this, but "Let the blogging begin!"
