Home Sweet Home

We had a nice but brief visit in Naples. Plenty of hurricane blogging material there -- a veritable gold mine of stories about uprooted trees and damaged roofs all going to waste. Unfortunately, we didn't bring a camera, and I didn't see Mom or Missy armed with one either. Uncle Joe and I had a spirited discussion about -- gasp -- politics. Some people!!! I suppose you might find most of middle America somewhere between where we each stand on almost every issue, but we agreed that the lost art of talking about things was a loss to all. From there it was on to Atlanta for me. I gave a keynote at a conference. I would give myself a C or C-. The lesson is that you should only do keynotes on topics in which you really have deep knowledge or experience, and I was only about halfway there on this particular conference's theme. On to Raleigh from there to visit with the group I have there, which was the highlight of my trip. Then to NY for a bit of excruciating negotiation on a business deal. I stayed in the Hudson Hotel. So chic-chic that it does not have a sign outside, and the lobby and rooms are incredibly dimly lit. The room was 59 degrees when I arrived, which would have been bad enough if I didn't have to get some work done sitting in the metal chair that was just as cold. I had Internet connectivity, but the phone did not work, and there was a half inch gap between the double-hung windows letting the strong wind blow in. After a $30 hamburger via room service, the night came to a little over $500. New York, gotta love it!