TJLA Joins Cooperative Effort to Provide Youth Livestock and Agriculture Position to Extension

The Texas Junior Livestock Association is pleased to announce that it has joined in a cooperative effort with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and with the Texas Farm Bureau to provide a new position that will benefit livestock exhibitors throughout the state. 

Dr. Billy Zanolini has accepted the position of Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist – Youth Livestock and Agriculture with the Texas 4-H and Youth Development Program. He will begin on September 15, 2012 and will be housed at the Texas 4-H Headquarters Building. Dr. Zanolini brings a great deal of passion, energy, and expertise to youth livestock and agriculture education programs.

Dr. Zanolini holds a BS and MS from Texas Tech University and a PhD from Texas A&M University. He has been a County Extension Agent in both Wilbarger and Madison Counties. He has planned, implemented, and evaluated very strong youth outcome programs and his doctoral research focused on the 4-H Livestock Ambassadors program he initiated a few years ago. In this study, he developed an educational model of the 4-H youth experience that has since been used as a teaching model for the Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program.

Dr. Zanolini has been a member of the Board of Directors of  the Texas Junior Livestock Association for the past four years.  He also serves as the Sheep Superintendent at the TJLA Belt Buckle Bonanza. He is familiar with the TJLA’s commitment to education for junior livestock exhibitors and has talked about the need for cooperative partnerships between the TJLA and the Texas Extension Service.

In this role, he will be in charge of the TJLA’s educational programs throughout the state. 

“We are very pleased to support this new position in the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and we look forward to working with Dr. Zanolini in this post,” stated Cherie Carrabba, Executive Director of the TJLA.  “We have been committed to the education of junior exhibitors for a number of years, and we feel that Dr. Zanolini will add a new dimension to this role.”

Remembering Kollin Long

The death of livestock exhibitor Kollin Long has been very sobering for this office. I had been planning on sneaking up on Bill in one of his deadline fashions, but I don’t have much play in me this week.  I understand the suffering that the Longs are enduring, and my heart goes out to them.

I didn’t know Kollin well.  I knew he had exhibited American and crossbred steers.  I think that he might have also exhibited a few heifers, but I may be thinking of one of his brothers.  I also knew that he had completed his first year of college at South
Plains and would have been starting his first year at Texas Tech.

I also knew that the Longs, like most livestock families, are a close group.  He and his brothers Kendall and Karter, all exhibited livestock. The brothers, and their dad and mother, Buddy and Theresa, worked as a family unit like the majority of livestock exhibitors.  They were and are good people.  They are the kind of people that you want as your friends.

I am quite sure that Sunday, August 19, was suppose to be one of those normal days where young people go off to fish and return home with fish stories along with stories about one another. 

That is one of the horrible things about death….everything is normal one moment, and in the next minute, an entire family’s life is turned upside down.  You want to recapture that one moment in time.  You want it to be like a video tape that you can replay, edit, and change what is happening. But that cannot happen.

Kollin Long had a good life: tragically short, but the years he had were good ones.  He has gone on to a place that is more beautiful than any of us have the creativity to imagine. The people who need our prayers and our support are his family and his friends.

I have learned, first hand, the power of prayer.  Anyone who has lost a child will tell you that they do not know how they will live through it.  I think that the only way that any of us survive is through the power of the prayers our friends say on our behalf.

You may not be able to comfort Buddy, Theresa, Kendall and Karter first hand. You may not know what words to say to them. But all of us can pray.  In prayer we can ask that God comfort them in this horrible time.  Even if it is difficult for them to believe right now, they will feel the power of those prayers.  Do what you can do, and pray for the Long family.

-Cherie

TGIF

“Today is Friday! Today is Friday!

By Cherie Rash Carrabba

I don’t know why that song hung in my head this morning, but I have repeated it over and over.  

Yesterday was a fiasco. I am busy working on premium checks when my accountant calls.  (I just dread seeing his phone number come up because I know I have a problem.)  He wanted to know why I had not responded to his email. “What email?” I replied. “The one I sent to you last Friday,” he said with that tone in his voice that I hate.

“I have not gotten an email.” I said.  “Cherie?” he asked in a way that reminded me of my mother.

“Ok. I really haven’t received the email, but I haven’t really looked closely at my email this week. I have been working on premium checks for the Bonanza, and the magazine goes to press next week and……” I tried to explain.

“Well the federal government rolls on whether you are in deadline or not, and I would think that you could have someone else write those premium checks.” he said. Before I could reply he told me that he needed all the tax data for John Ben’s estate and Randy’s estate by Monday.

“This coming Monday?” I asked.  “Yes, this coming Monday,” the Nazi replied.  “I have to have that data, and you have had since last February to get it to me.”

I explained to him that I hate all that stuff and that I am a deadline person to which he said, “Good, Monday is your deadline.”  With that he hung up.

I know that I am exasperating, but trying to get that stuff together between Thursday and Monday seems to me to be of the same magnitude that the people in Los Alamos faced when they were trying to make the atomic bomb.  So, since mid-afternoon yesterday, I have been wildly searching for my hard copy data as well as frantically calling our bookkeeper for help.  She wasn’t much easier on me than Mike.

“I turn 80 next week.  You never do anything until the last minute, and I plan on leaving on vacation Monday,” Melba said.  “That is perfect!” I said. I have to have it to Mike by Monday. Why don’t we start bright and early in the morning and plan on working on Saturday?”

I then pulled a Mike stunt and hung up because I didn’t want to hear her reply.

So wish me luck this weekend. I hate tax time!

Midwest State Fair Results

Don’t fire me as a blogger! I have been working on premium checks, and that takes a lot of concentration.  Believe me! I have found that out this week. 

The Showbox traveling crew – Scooter Lewis and Megan Favorite, return today from the Midwest. Ryan and I have decided that next year, we are going to be the traveling team. He will do the Facebooking, and I will do the blogging. Of course, I am sure I will have to censor a lot of his blogging since some of his FB posts send me screaming into his office!

Let’s go back to the Midwest and the results of the Midwest State Fairs.  In Sedalia this week, they are celebrating the 110^th Missouri State Fair.  One of these years, I am going to do a complete history of the State Fairs in the United States. If you hate history, then you won’t be interested, but if you like to know how something came to be, you will love it.

The Grand Champion Steer at the 2012 Missouri State Fair was exhibited by Laurin Dally of Deerfield, while the Reserve Grand Champion Steer was exhibited by Shelby Love of St. Cathrine. At this moment, I do not have more particulars, but I will be working on that.

The acclaimed Iowa State Fair Steer Show was held yesterday with Texan Jim Williams having the honor of judging. The Grand Champion Steer at the 2012 Iowa State Fair was shown by Trevor Moore. The steer was a Heat Wave 4. He was raised by Bob Blake and Jase Clark. 

This year, Charolais cattle did very well at the Midwest State Fairs.  The Reserve Grand Champion Steer was a Charolais exhibited by James Gradert. Vickland raised the steer, and he was sold through a culmination of transactions that included Bonham, Guyer, Bremer and Smith.

Danielle Delange exhibited the Fourth Overall Steer at the Iowa State Fair.  He was sold by Goretska and raised by Mike Treinen. His sire was Heat Wave.

The Fifth Overall Steer was exhibited by Morgan McDermott. Ryan Haberger sold the steer which was sired by Bojo. Steve Downing raised the steer.

There are several state fairs to go including: Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, California, and South Dakota. Reporting will continue, but I think my blogs for the next 10 days will chronicle the comings and goings at our office. That will be scary, and I will probably receive death threats.

None of the office reads my blogs, so I plan on showing up with a camera. Rather than arriving in my pajamas or sweats like I usually do on deadline week, I will dress like a normal person every day.  I will do my hair (most of the time) rather than sticking a baseball cap on it, or tying it up in this mess on the top of my head. I will try to get my office cleaned up. (That is probably an emphasis on the try rather than getting it done, and I will make sure to show everyone else’s mess.) The only neat freaks in the office are Bill and Ryan, but I have an article about that in the September Showbox. 

So tune in again tomorrow folks, as we chronicle…. As the Office Turns.

Another Edition, but this time, not from the Road…

Well, I am home. I lived through the trip, and I have a pile of unread email and unopened mail.  We are working on the September Fall Herd Sire Issue, so any of you wanting to advertise your herd sire, here is a chance at a discount.  Call us at the office, so we can help you.

The Wisconsin State Fair Steer Show is going on today. Dr. Clint Rusk was the judge, and here are the results:

The Champion Performance Steer was exhibited by James Griswald; the Reserve Champion Performance Steer was exhibited by John Acterberg. Allison Hawthorn showed the Champion Angus Steer and Jared Radcliffe exhibited the Reserve Champion Angus Steer.

Brock May exhibited the Champion Chianina Steer. That steer was sired by I Am Legend. The Reserve Champion Chianina Steer was sired by Cool Customer and exhibited by Paige Poad.

In the Hereford Division, Hunter Dischler exhibited the Champion Hereford steer. He was sired by Purple Inferno, and he was sold by Brandon Jones, Matt Hueber, and Shea Geffert. The Reserve Champion Hereford steer was exhibited by John Henderson.

Dr. Clint Rusk chose Ben Himebaugh’s Shorthorn steer as the Champion. That steer was raised by Dakota Smith.  He was sold by Pruet and Shireman, and he was sired by Jakes Proud Jazz. He then selected Hope Schlimgen’s steer as the Reserve Shorthorn.

A steer sired by Monopoly took Champion Maine Anjou honors. He was exhibited by Hunter Dischler who purchased him form Shea Geffert. Lauren May exhibited the Reserve Champion Maine Anjou Steer.  It was sired by Bojo.

Dustin Lillesand exhibited the Champion AOB Steer. It was sold by Trausch and Rockin’ J.  It is a Heatwave steer raised by Michael Greiner. The Reserve Champion AOB was shown by Mikayla Kind.

Dennis Pearson raised the Champion Crossbred Steer which was a Charolais Cross.  It was sired by Milkman exhibited by Brock Man. The Reserve Champion Crossbred Steer was sired by Eye Candy and exhibited by Calli Bayer.

When the Crossbred Champion was chosen, Dr. Rusk selected Brock May’s Charolais crossbred as the Champion Crossbred Steer.

Brock May ended up being both Grand and Reserve Grand Champion. His Chianina Steer was the Grand Champion Steer of the show, and the Crossbred was the Reserve Grand Champion Steer of the Show. The Champion Maine of Hunter Dischler’s was Third Overall. Fourth Overall Steer was the Champion Shorthorn exhibited by Ben Himebauch, and the Fifth Overall Steer was the Champion Hereford exhibited by Hunter Dischler. Sixth Overall was Justin Lillesand’s Champion AOB, Allison Hawthorn’s Champion Angus was the Seventh Overall, and Courtney Schmidt finished the Top Eight Steers of the show with the Champion Dairy Steer.

Congratulations to all the Exhibitors at the Wisconsin State Fair Steer Show!

-Cherie

Indiana State Fair - 2012

I have to apologize for being MIA yesterday, but I had a bump in the road Sunday night that put me off schedule.

Indiana, like Ohio, is one of those states in the Midwest that desperately needs rain. The corn fields in many places are burning up. As I drove from Columbus to Indianapolis, I thought about the farmers who were victims of the weather.

I had a special treat while I was in Indianapolis. My hotel was actually in Marion, which is a small incorporated city with Indianapolis. I chose to drive through Indianapolis rather than take a shorter route by getting on the freeway. My route took me up Meridian Street which is a beautiful drive. In 1986 the National Register of Historical Places named the North Meridian Street neighborhood as one of the most beautiful historical neighborhoods in America, and I understand why. The street is the old silk stocking district of Indianapolis. The beautiful, stately homes built in last part of the 19th Century or the first part of the 20th Century all have large yards and grounds surrounding them.

 If you love architecture, and I do, you want to pause every few yards to get a close up view of a variety of architectural styles that covers most of the styles popular during that period. You might have a beautiful Georgian home next to a home built in the Biedermeier style that was popular in Germany during that period. It was a drive that I enjoyed and took a total of three times while in the city.

The Indiana State Fair is housed right in the heart of Indianapolis. The buildings, many of which were built at different times, are a variety. Indiana was the sixth state to establish a fair. In 1851 the General Assembly of Indiana established the State Board of Agriculture; its first order of duty was to establish a State Fair. The first one was held in Indianapolis in 1852. The fairgrounds have been used for many events important to the city’s history.

Five United States Presidents have made appearances on the Indiana State Fairgrounds. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech to a crowd of 40,000 on a fair day known as Big Thursday. Franklin Roosevelt, George Bush and Bill Clinton all have made appearances on the fairgrounds. In 1959, John F. Kennedy made a speech in the arena as he sought the Presidency.

In the communications building, which houses the media department, Elvis Presley gave one of his first television interviews right after he had written Heartbreak Hotel. One year later in 1957, Mohammed Ali, who was then Cassius Clay, boxed in that building as an amateur. As I was walking on the fairgrounds, I felt like I was a part of history.

John DeClerk and Jirl Buck judged steers and heifers respectively. The Grand Champion Steer was exhibited by Cole Wilcox. It was sired by Immortal and raised by Jeff Miller. The Reserve Grand Champion Steer was a Crossbred sired by Walks Alone and exhibited by Chloe Martin. It was raised by Wes Rodgers and sold by Wade Rodgers and Goet. A Charolais steer was Third Over All. It was a Smilin' Bob shown by Bailey Rist. The steer was raised by Wagonhammer. Kayla Newsom's Reserve Champion Chianina Steer was Fourth Overall and was sired by Uno Mas and sold by Pruet Show Cattle. Emily Greenwald exhibited the Fifth Overall Steer. It was the Champion Maine Anjou.

The Supreme Champion Heifer was exhibited by Claire Trennepohl who exhibited a Simmental. The Reserve Supreme Champion Heifer was exhibited by Ellie Sennett with a Chianina that was raised by Foster Brothers. The Third Overall Heifer was the Champion Commercial Heifer. It was sired by I-80 and exhibited by Becca Chamberlain. Madison Stockdale's Angus heifer was selected as the Fourth Overall. Rounding out the Top Five was a Shorthorn Heifer raised by Xavier Ferris and raised by Cates Farms.

So, I am headed home, but I wish I were going to the Wisconsin State Fair. Next year, I will. Watch for more of my blogs this week. I like this!

-Cherie

The Ohio State Fair 2012

My day at the Ohio State Fair was a good one. I met a lot of new people, saw many good steers, and helped Matt Lautner with his blog. I also saw something very unusual happen. A Charolais cross steer sired by Monopoly and exhibited by Danielle Heinz won the show. The Reserve Grand Steer was another Monopoly exhibited by the young woman I talked about yesterday: MacKenzie Fruchey. The Third Overall Steer was exhibited by Brooke Egbert, and it was a Heatwave. The Fourth Overall Steer was a Monopoly exhibited by Sarah Klehm, and the Fifth Overall Steer was the Shorthorn steer of Kyle Piscone.

The Grand Champion Steer was raised by Troy Thomas of South Dakota and sold by Winegardner Cattle. The Reserve Grand Champion Steer was raised by Brad Linton and sold by Dave Sutherly. Brooke Egbert's Third Overall Steer was Raised by Larry Conn and sold by Goet. The Fourth Overall Steer was raised by Hauke/Forsythe and sold by Donathan McIntosh.

The Ohio State Fair is 159 years old. It began in Cincinnati in 1850. The admission price that year was twenty cents. It moved around between Cleveland, Dayton, Newark, Columbus, Sandusky, Zanesville, Toledo, Springfield and Mansfield until 1886 when it settled in what is now called the Ohio Expo Center. The first butter cow, an item that is amazing to those of us from the South, was put on display in 1903. It was cancelled from 1942- 1945 because of World War II, and the facility was leased to the war department for one dollar a year.

Ohio is a lot like my home state of Texas in that it is now going through horribly dry conditions such as those we suffered through last year. The drought has taken a toll on crops, cattle and trees. It is also like my home state in that the people have a spirit which will overcome all obstacles.

I am off today to Indianapolis for the Indiana State Fair. By the way, office staff, I found two very nice young people to help me yesterday, and I didn't have to carry those boxes of magazines after all.

See you later today, or in the morning.

Cherie

Interstate 71, whose docks are used as grooming chutes.

 The chutes under interstate 71.

  

 The mainstay of the show cattle industry....the Scotch comb.

 

Anywhere there is cattle, there is the same routine.

 My view from the press box.

The one and only Matt Lautner and I.

The Great Midwest Adventure - Edition II

I made it to Columbus, am happily ensconced in my room at the Crown Plaza to let "the experts" know I made it. Since they never read a thing I write, I can make a couple of small confessions.

First, those skycaps I bragged about tipping are in short supply. By the time I arrived in Columbus, I had a major ache in my neck from carrying around what amounted to two 50 pound weights. One nice man volunteered to get my carry-on luggage out of the bin somewhere back there in the bowels of the plane. When he pulled it free, it almost took him down with it!

"What have you got in there?" he asked. "My concealed handgun and my license to carry it," I smartly replied. "I am an undercover Federal Marshall." He handed me that carry-on so fast you would have thought it was a hot potato. I thought he was going to salute.

Anyone in their right mind can tell I am not a Federal Marshall. Do I look like Mariska Hargitay in Law and Order? That only happens in my dreams! But he looked so stricken, I shook his hand and told him the Federal government was very appreciative of his help.

He probably thinks he is going to get a glowing letter of commendation from his congressman. When I was waiting for THE REST of my luggage, I heard him whispering to the guy he was standing by and looking my way.

At the airport, I met a very nice young man who just graduated from high school. He is carrying luggage for people to earn money for school. He plans on being an Architectural Engineer. We had a nice chat while we spent 23 minutes waiting for the luggage carrier to roll the Big Brown Suitcase around. He pulled that sucker off the bin, dropped it on the cart (literally), and pulled the cart with all of my belongings, including my purse, across the street to the rental car company.

I tipped him well and told him I hoped he had a clone in another part of Columbus, and with my rental car map in hand, I left the airport.

It wasn't too long before I was lost, so I decided to take desperate measure. I found a gas station, asked what their address was, typed it into my GPS on my ipad, typed the address of the hotel in the other blank, and hit "SEARCH."

In a few seconds, there was a big blue blinking dot on the GPS map. It was me in my little blue Honda Civic right there on the map with an orange variety of routes leading to the Crown Plaza! I looked at the blinking blue dot, put that Honda Civic in gear, and started down the route that was marking the way to the hotel. So between glancing at the blue dot to make sure I was on the correct path, and other drivers honking at me to get moving, I made it to the Crown Plaza.

Guess what? There was no clone of Tim, the skycap, although I thought there was. There was a young man in a short sleeved white shirt, navy blue Bermuda shorts with a lanyard around his neck. I asked him if he was the bellman, and I thought he was going to choke. He was a guest. Oops!

So, I hauled the cart to the rental car, and winched Big Brown from the trunk, amazingly. Of course that did not help my shoulders and back which were already in dire need of a good rubdown, but I won't be telling that to the home team.

While I was dragging the cart down the hall and to the elevator, I met a very nice couple from Ohio. Their granddaughter is McKenzie Fruchey from Fayette County who exhibited the Grand Champion Market Lamb at the 2011 Ohio State Fair. McKenzie has had an outstanding career exhibiting lambs and steers. She exhibited the Grand Champion Market Lamb at the 2011 American Royal. In 2012 she exhibited the Grand Champion Steer at the Ohio Beef Expo, the Reserve Grand Champion Steer at the Michigan Beef Expo, and the Grand Champion Steer at the 2012 Clark County Preview Show.

McKenzie won steer showmanship today in the 18 Year Old Division. (Don't let Ryan Rash hear that, he will be lobbying for a showmanship division for every year. He thinks it is more meaningful than having the Grand Champion Steer.)

Mckenzie will exhibit a Crossbred steer and a Maine Anjou Steer tomorrow at the Ohio State Fair. Her grandparents are extremely proud, as well they should be.

When I asked where she was going to be attending college, her grandmother told me that she was going to "a little junior college in Illinois". She said that she and her husband were not familiar with the school until McKenzie decided that is where she wanted to go.

I grinned and told them that I bet it was Blackhawk. They looked surprised. I then said, and I bet she is going to judge livestock, and they were even more surprised that I knew that. We have a lot in common, the people from Ohio and the people from Texas. We all appreciate good livestock judges and respect the students who wish to be on judging teams. I am going to meet McKenzie tomorrow, and I look forward to it.

I like Ohio. The people are friendly. They have been hit by drought this year like we were last year, and when I look at some of the 70, 80 even 100 year old trees who look like they may not recover from the summer, it breaks my heart. I know how devastating it was for us.

Tomorrow I plan on getting a look at Ohio State as well as spending a lot of time at the 2012 Ohio State Fair. Be watching for my next update. I am "On the Road Again" and loving it!

Right now, I have to go place a Ben-Gay Pain Relieving patch on my neck! But don't tell the boys!

Cherie

My Great Midwest Adventure- Opening Round

My Great Midwest Adventure - Opening Round

                      By Cherie Carrabba

Well, my great Midwest adventure has begun!  It is an adventure in two ways: I am on a trip BY MYSELF for the first time in 27 years! My entire staff has envisioned one fiasco after another.  None of them think I am capable of doing this by myself.... more on that later.  Secondly, this is my first blog.

Don't get me wrong. I write all the time, but it is with planning. There is no planning associated with a blog. As a matter of fact, I did not intend to post a blog until I sat in my seat on the plane. So here it goes!

 

We did some planning about who was going to each Midwest State Fair. I announced I was going to the Ohio and Indiana State Fairs, and everyone in the office said (in unison)"Who is going with you?" "No one," I replied. That was met with gasps, horrified looks, and Ryan saying, "Why in the world would you even think you can do that?"  "Because I can, and I am," I retorted. For the last two weeks I have been inundated with all manner of reasons why it was impossible for me to do this. 

 

From Bill: You pack like Chinese royalty. How are you going to get your bags in the car?

Answer: I have been working out, and I know how to tip!

 

From Ryan: How many years has it been since you carried a box of magazines?

Answer: If I told you, I would have to kill you, and I am sure that they have polite, helpful young people in Ohio and Indiana.

Counter Response: That is not Texas, honey.  You can't just yell at a Chris Barton or a Peyton Herzog across the parking lot and have them rush to help you!

From Megan: You're not going to drive, are you?

Answer: I don't think so.  My car is still in the shop from my wrecking it before the Bonanza, and the one I am driving I wrecked during the Bonanza, and it needs to go in the shop, so, I don't think so.

From Howard: Why are you going? 

Answer: I am going to put out magazines and meet some of our customers up there. I can be charming when I try.

Counter Response: Maybe you could practice trying around here.

From Scooter: How are you going to find the fairgrounds?

Answer: I have an iphone with GPS.

Counter Response: I know, you had it last time, and we were lost most of the time.

 

I finally decided to try to find a more positive soul to go with me, but that didn't work either, so I purchased an airline ticket on Southwest airlines to take me from Houston to Columbus. The only problem with SWA is that their best flights are either early in the morning or late in the evening. I booked a flight leaving Houston Hobby at 6:05 in the morning. Houston Hobby is exactly 132 miles from my front gate.

 

They all wanted me to go to Houston the night before, but we were swamped. It was 7:00 P.M. by the time I walked in my front door, so I set my alarm for 2:00 A.M and went to bed.

 

I got up at 2:00 this morning, but time management when leaving for a trip is not my greatest talent. I needed to be at Houston Hobby at 5:05 A.M., but somehow, it was 3:28 A.M. before I turned on the ignition.  That was not good planning, so I gunned it.

There are not many cars on the road at that time of morning, so I breezed along until I went through Trinity. I saw the flashing red lights from a mile away, so I pulled over, retrieved my driver's license and poof of insurance. I smiled sweetly as I rolled down the window and looked at the thunderous face of Officer Adams. 

 

"You certainly are up early!" I said, trying to break the ice. He never replied.  "I am trying to make a 5:00 A.M. flight," I explained.  He just looked at me. Finally, in desperation I asked him if he knew a government official in Trinity County that is a friend of mine. "Yes, I know him," he said. "We are friends," I replied, and he will vouch for me."  He looked at me, looked at my driver's license and finally said, "Ok. I am going to run your driver’s license. You have him call me, or I will mail you a citation." "Yes, sir," I said. 

 

He came back in two minutes. I jerked my driver's license out of his hand, put the car in gear, and started back on the road in my quest to beat the clock.

 

Interstate 45, the route to Houston, is the shortest Interstate Highway in America. It starts in Galveston and ends in Dallas.  It has one more distinction for a highway wanting to make it into the Guinness Book of world records: it is under construction more than any other highway in the country. In my lifetime, there has never been a month when it wasn't under construction.

 

Highways under construction always have these signs that say: Road work in progress, lower speed; fine triples.  I understand that, and I think that is a good safety move, but there is no construction taking place at 4:00 o'clock in the morning. It always amazes me how many people think that lower speed is the law 24 hours a day! When there is no construction taking place, I think it should be business as usual, and that is exactly how I interpreted it this morning.

 

I made record time getting to Hobby Airport. Much to my staff's amazement I did get my bags to the check in line, but it was a little more difficult than I had imagined. There is no sky cap in the parking lot at 5:15 in the morning. I managed to hoist my bag out of the trunk, put my world of carry-ons on top of this monstrous suitcase and sprinted to the terminal. 

The one thing people in the office did not remember to remember to point out was that the guys always carry my carry-ons which usually weigh as much as a normal person's bag. I will have to admit that by the time I made it to the boarding area, I had this strained neck and back on my right side. I think a little deep heat of some variety will fix that. 

 

I got on the plane, stored all my carry-ons somewhere that I will never find since they are scattered all over the plane.  I have buckled up, listened to the 167th version of the safety drill before take-off, had my orange juice, and am winging my way toward Columbus right now.

I will keep you posted as I go.

Cherie