A Great Moment...

Yesterday we stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house and had a wonderful visit. I was sitting in the sunroom with Grandpa and we were talking about my trip to Louisville this week.

Grandpa got quiet and started thinking. Pretty soon he says, "I remember going to Louisville." I was waiting to hear what he had to say, wondering if his mind would pull this thought out after 97 years of memories. After a pause, he continued. "It was before I was married. We were downtown. It was Shorty S... and Jerry, and (pause) I can't remember who else. There was five of us. We started talking and decided to go to that race, the (pause) Kentucky race, (pause) the horse race, the, you know, the (pause) Kentucky Derby.

I was so happy to hear him get that thought out that I almost missed the signifigance of it. I had never known Grandpa to be a man of impulse. He had always seemed so straight and his every move so planned that this was news that surprised me. Now I got to hear that this man also had an impulsive side, even though it was from a story over seven decades old.

Grandpa continued to tell his story of how the five of them had driven overnight to go to the Kentucky Derby. He remembered going in the morning to get tickets to the race. As he wistfully looked out the window he smiled a little and said "I can't remember much else about it, but I remember going there."

Louisville Travel On Ice

Traveling to Louisville this week for Project Management class was supposed to be a nice break from winter. No such luck. So far it has snowed and iced over everything exposed for the last two days. The news says there is 400,000 homes without power in Kentucky right now. Thankfully our hotel is not included.

Last night we ordered pizza in at the hotel because the ice was treacherous on the sidewalks and we really weren't sure if anything was open. Most of the city appeared to have shut down. Tonight there were more signs of lifw so we ventured out to 4th Street Live - a really neat area a few blocks away. We had a great meal at The Pub there. The Hard Rock Cafe is next door as well.

The trees are covered in ice, so bad that many are breaking. Sidewalks are frozen yet, and the streets are in danger of flooding as drains are blocked with sluch that is now freezing to solid ice. Tomorrow will be the fourth day in a row that the schools are all closed. Hotel employees are staying at the hotel because they cannot get home. It seems to me like another winter day in Madison, except we are not in Madison...

I called the girls before bed time again tonight. It has been pretty smooth the last two nights, tonight was tougher though. Two are crying and "I miss you Daddy" was the mantra.

Business travel is overrated.