Oh, what a week I've had! On Tuesday, I spent the day in Beaumont, then went to a meeting and got home about 10:00 PM. On Wednesday, I had to go to a computer class all day. It was held across town, fairly close to Dolphin's house, so I went there when the class was over, and got home about 9:30 PM. Yesterday morning, I drove to San Antonio, made some calls, then drove down to Corpus Christi, arriving just in time to throw my suitcase into my hotel room and run to another meeting. All I have to do today is make a few calls here in Corpus, drive back to Houston, and start back in on my ever-lengthening to-do list. And, somehow, I have to get back into the cats' good graces. I suspect they are not happy about the lack of petting and the stale cat food they've been forced to eat.

I spend a lot of time going to these professional meetings, but there is method in my madness. Security has increased so much at the plants that it's very difficult to get in, and of course since the advent of voice mail, it's incredibly hard to get someone on the phone. But if you meet someone in a casual setting, chat with him over a drink and dinner, it's a whole different ball game. Now you are friends, and he's delighted to make an appointment. In fact, I have never even been in the office of one of my best customers, but many times we have sat at a table after the meeting ended and figured out the solution to a problem. The other salesmen think I'm nuts, but it sure has worked well for me.

The Professor is on another dive trip. He will get home tomorrow, but too late to make the ballet (we have season tickets), so Kritter is going to go with me. She has been my best ballet buddy over the years. Sunday night the Professor and I are having dinner with my "adopted son" and his parents. Tony works for my former company. He came here from England several years ago, and I didn't want him to sit all alone for 4 days for his first Thanksgiving holiday, so I invited him to dinner. Now he has his own stocking, and everyone considers him a part of the family. A few years ago, his parents and brother were here for Christmas, so I had them all over for the day. (There isn't a whole lot of difference between feeding 24 and 28.) This will be the first chance I've had to see them again, and I'm really looking forward to it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.