beBetter 

As I was returning from the MFG meeting in sunny Naples, FL, a few weeks ago, a fierce winter storm was sweeping across the southeast and leaving in its wake freezing temperatures, lots of sleet, freezing rain and ice. As I got to my connecting flight in Atlanta for my final destination of JAN (Jackson, MS), flights were being canceled all along the terminal. I even heard people talking about rescheduling for flights from cancellations that were made late the day before.

It's 9:30 a.m. on a beautiful partly cloudy day and I'm 21 feet off the ground in a tree. There's just enough breeze to keep the leaves raining down and keeping a slight chill in the air. Yes, I'm whitetail deer hunting today. Now I know this is probably not the way most of us would want to spend our leisure time.

All I could do was laugh recently as this lady pulled up beside me at a stop sign.  As you can see, her companion has seen better days.  I immediately wondered what she was doing with this full scale skeleton riding shotgun in her car. But at least they had on their seatbelt, safety first! I rolled down my window to ask her what her friend was up to, but she sped off with what appeared to be a little attitude. I guess I was a little too lively for her. 

On a recent flight, I got to looking at the motion sickness bag sitting right in front of me. It reminded me one of my first trips with my wife, Cathy. We took a trip to Las Vegas with four other couples to celebrate the birthday of a close friend. I really wanted to impress her, so I arranged for us to take a helicopter tour into the Grand Canyon and land for a picnic lunch. I was very excited about this trip and she seemed to be also.  

It was a beautiful day and after some initial training, we boarded the helicopter in the back seat while another couple rode up front with the pilot. After a smooth lift-off, the pilot began a tour around Vegas and then out to the Grand Canyon. It was so cool flying so close to the buildings and seeing Vegas from a new view. Cathy was smiling, but she did look a little pale.