Tonya's Wedding

We really enjoyed going to Tonya's wedding last weekend. We enjoyed seeing everyone, and it was a wonderful day for a wedding and everything really went well.

It was fun to watch the entire community come together to celebrate this event.

The drive back was long, but enjoyable. The weather was perfect and we listened to a "audio book" to help pass the time.

The wind in western Kansas reminded me of why we now live in Lakeland, Tennessee, but we did enjoy visitng! I had forgotten how high an altitude Hays, Kansas is (Fort Hays is where I got my BA) and I now realize I'm not just exaggerating how cold and windy it got out there!

Doris Kearns Goodwin

My favorite history author, Doris Kearns Goodwin spoke at the conference on Wednesday. I saw her about 7 years ago and immediately went out and bought all of her books and read them. She has a way of making history come alive. She won a Pulitzer several years ago and wrote a biography of Abraham Lincoln (Team of Rivals) which I read earlier this year. Her speech was mainly on the findings of her book, Team of Rivals. It was a super book. If you think you don’t like history, read her book.

She gave a super presentation at the conference. I wanted to get her to sign my book, but I had to rush and check out of the hotel and head to the airport.

We went to TGI Fridays to eat. To my amazement, about five minutes later Doris Kearns Goodwin came in and sat at the table next to us! We were nice and merely told her we appreciated her excellent presentation and I advised her how much I enjoyed Team of Rivals. She may not have believed I owned and had read all of her books, but I wanted to tell her anyway!

It would be like going to a concert and then having the star come and sit next to you in the restaurant after the concert!

It was a moment to be remembered and treasured.

Oddly enough, at the same conference 7 years ago, Beck Weathers spoke (Left for Dead) and I went on an odyssey of reading mountain climbing books, as well as books by Doris Kearns Goodwin. (Goodwin also has written books about Franklin Roosevelt, Kennedy (before he became President), a book about her love of baseball, and Lyndon Johnson.

Pittsburgh

Just got back from Pittsburgh, PA (actually I’ve been back several days, but this is the first chance I’ve had to write about it). It is an interesting town. A lot of the residents seem a little insecure about how visitors will like the City but it has a lot of variety and is a comfortable town to be in.

It is definitely a “Steelers City”. The Steelers played while we were up there and it was evident everyone loves their Steelers, whether they go to the game or watch it on tv or whatever.

I think they are still recovering from the steel mills going down, and they are doing a good job of rebuilding.