EVERYWHERE I GO, I ALWAYS TAKE THE WEATHER WITH ME...
I think a higher power might be trying to tell me something: New York just isn’t the place for me.
Last winter I was snowbound in my apartment during one of the worst winters on record; in spring it rained more than Manchester, which is no mean feat; and only last week I was caught off balance, thinking I might have to start cutting back on my Senokot tablets. But as I looked around our office on the 27th floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I could see the panic spreading and realized that this was no bodily function. Tremors from an earthquake in Virginia were rocking the building.
But the quake was only the beginning. A couple of days later New Yorkers were bracing themselves for what was billed as being the largest hurricane in decades, seemingly inappropriately named after someone’s kindly grandma: Hurricane Irene.
Like any over-worried dad, I kept on checking the weather forecasts to make sure my three children would be safe as I headed off to the Green Mountains in Vermont. While they stayed inside in perfect comfort, I found myself trapped in the worst flooding in Vermont’s history. The bridge I was to make my escape on collapsed and the waters came cascading in. I was stuck for another day after attending the four-day wedding event of one of my close friend’s daughters.
The wedding itself was superb, but after four days I was climbing the walls, or I would have been if they hadn’t been so wet. Finally, I was driven out of the area to Montreal where I had a business meeting and had the strange experience of travelling over a land border, which I mistook for a toll-bridge and angered the border guards by staying on my mobile. The guard asked me if I had more than 10,000 dollars on me. “10,000 dollars? I wish!” I replied. He was not amused and made me step out of the car and open my luggage. At that stage I became a lot more respectful, fearing more intimate searches ahead.
After being sent on my way, unscathed, I arrived in French-speaking Quebec. The last time I was there was more than 37-years-ago when I worked as a waiter. So I had a nostalgic trip down memory lane, went to my meeting, and headed to Ottawa the next morning.
The meeting was very productive, and there is great potential for thebigword in this part of the world. My experiences over the last couple of weeks have made me even more appreciative of our global staff, many of whom spend hours in not so glamorous airports promoting and delivering thebigword’s services. I’m safely back in England now, the sun is shining and I’m looking forward to a well-deserved, preferably natural-disaster-free couple of days.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
Last winter I was snowbound in my apartment during one of the worst winters on record; in spring it rained more than Manchester, which is no mean feat; and only last week I was caught off balance, thinking I might have to start cutting back on my Senokot tablets. But as I looked around our office on the 27th floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I could see the panic spreading and realized that this was no bodily function. Tremors from an earthquake in Virginia were rocking the building.
But the quake was only the beginning. A couple of days later New Yorkers were bracing themselves for what was billed as being the largest hurricane in decades, seemingly inappropriately named after someone’s kindly grandma: Hurricane Irene.
Like any over-worried dad, I kept on checking the weather forecasts to make sure my three children would be safe as I headed off to the Green Mountains in Vermont. While they stayed inside in perfect comfort, I found myself trapped in the worst flooding in Vermont’s history. The bridge I was to make my escape on collapsed and the waters came cascading in. I was stuck for another day after attending the four-day wedding event of one of my close friend’s daughters.
The wedding itself was superb, but after four days I was climbing the walls, or I would have been if they hadn’t been so wet. Finally, I was driven out of the area to Montreal where I had a business meeting and had the strange experience of travelling over a land border, which I mistook for a toll-bridge and angered the border guards by staying on my mobile. The guard asked me if I had more than 10,000 dollars on me. “10,000 dollars? I wish!” I replied. He was not amused and made me step out of the car and open my luggage. At that stage I became a lot more respectful, fearing more intimate searches ahead.
After being sent on my way, unscathed, I arrived in French-speaking Quebec. The last time I was there was more than 37-years-ago when I worked as a waiter. So I had a nostalgic trip down memory lane, went to my meeting, and headed to Ottawa the next morning.
The meeting was very productive, and there is great potential for thebigword in this part of the world. My experiences over the last couple of weeks have made me even more appreciative of our global staff, many of whom spend hours in not so glamorous airports promoting and delivering thebigword’s services. I’m safely back in England now, the sun is shining and I’m looking forward to a well-deserved, preferably natural-disaster-free couple of days.
Have a great weekend,
Larry
