Last day in Rochester
Rochester, NY It’s 3:42 PM. I just woke up from what I hoped to be a recharging nap. It’s still too soon to tell. Tonight is my last night in Rochester as I embark on the second leg of the journey. I am ready to go for the most part, or at least I am in terms of schedule and destinations. I have a to do list that does not have enough time to be completed. Now its 4:00 (my friend Mark called, he’s out of the hospital) and I have to pack all of my clothes, pack my car, take a shower, be ready for company at 5:30, go to my farewell dinner with my family at 6:30, have a few drinks with...
Read MoreOnStar
Rochester, NY 4:40 PM Another day in the life of an interviewer. I was set to interview the President of the Rochester District of Key Bank. This a powerful position locally. It’s one of 24 presidents in the company. My Uncle set it up so I wanted to be sure it went well. I reflect on the people that set my interviews up. I left earlier than scheduled (surprise) and made my way downtown to the Bausch and Lomb Building. I hadn’t been there before. Downtown and I are not too familiar, but I had directions from his assistant. So, I was all set, shirt tucked in even, and my business hat on. I...
Read MoreRushed
Rochester, NY It’s 8:51 AM. I should not be typing, as I have a 9:30 that I need to go to. I need to brush my teeth, find my shoes, fill my water, grab a banana, and get out of here. Here I am, with my shirt tucked in even, ready for a busy morning. I am going to sit back down with the executive coach I met a few weeks ago. We are going to talk about me. Then I go to interview a family friend of ours who happens to have been at Kodak for 40 years. Then I may need to have lunch with someone. Then I need to return some calls to set up my itinerary. I need to work on the book proposal. I...
Read MoreIntroducing
Rochester, NY 7:45 PM After dinner, I type. I started the day voicing my visions of my project. Things are sounding better and the whole thing is coming around. I just set my itinerary for next week. Columbus, OH. Pittsburgh, PA. Gettysburg, PA. Harrisburg, PA. Philadelphia, PA for the weekend. Then onto Baltimore, MD. Onward from there. My morning was spent with a coach. She gets me pumped up for my project and its success. I am envisioning things I never thought of in April. Later, I had one of my more interesting interviews. It was with the office manager of George Fisher from Kodak. He is...
Read MoreTiming
Rochester, NY 1:05 PM Timing is something we don’t have much control over. If we had it our way, we would lay out a master plan and the dominoes would fall precisely at the time we have forecasted. It is obvious that this does not happen. I keep doing it. I’m punishing myself. Last night was a bit different, but I still decided to see 5 AM again. I spent most of the day at the house, doing emails, working on the book proposal, and trying to set up interviews. I contacted Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Dole’s office, the PR group for the band O.A.R., and a made a few other calls to some...
Read MoreJust Say No
Rochester, NY 11:00 AM It was one of those nights where you were supposed to go home early. I instead, just got off of the phone with my friend who said, “Dude, I woke up at my parent’s house.” He doesn’t live at his parent’s house. I woke up a few minutes ago. This is the first day in a long time that I could sleep in and the house was quiet. I am back at the kitchen table, post it notes around me, and the lake in front of me. I woke up at 8:45 morning. I did not want to wake up at 8:45. I last wrote about heading to Dave’s cottage. I made it there at about 8:30 PM. I was made at...
Read MoreEmpty
Rochester, NY 6:40 PM The tank is pretty low right now. I’ve been running at full speed most of the week and it’s catching up. I just got back from the family reunion. It was fun, but I was not as into it as I would’ve been. For as tired as I was, I still managed to pull a 24 hour bender. I woke up for golf yesterday at 5 AM. I went to bed last night at 5:30 AM. Ouch. After dinner and the party for my dad, The Family went out. It was myself, Caytie, Bryan, Morgan, and Kyle. We went to a bar that was pretty quiet and had a few. A few friends met us out as well. This was my last night to...
Read MoreFull Day
Rochester, NY I’m not sure where to start. I am overtired, a bit buzzed, and starving. It’s 11:00 PM and I just got home from Brian’s house, after going to Lynne’s house, after a quick mini dinner, after an interview at the Rochester paper (Democrat and Chronicle), after lunch, after golf, after waking up at 5 AM. A great day but one that I will probably not do justice for because of my state. Golfed with Dad, Brad, and Mr. Chenette. 7:30 AM start at Shadow Pines. Shot 83. I had a 2:00 interview set up with a columnist from the paper here. Golf ended at 12:15 so I decided to shower at...
Read MoreWe’re baked
Rochetser, NY We are going to be baked in an hour or so. We have 50 dozen clams, a 75 degree and sunny evening, a lake wave chorus, and the remnants of a 4th of July barrel of Labbatt Blue Light. I am a big fan of tradition. Whether it be a college football rivalry, Sunday night feasts, a holiday ritual traditions are a good thing. We have our 4th of July tradition. We now seem to have formed the tradition of having a clam bake once per summer. For my friends down South, a clam bake is very similar to a crawfish boil. The number of people is normally not as big for a clam bake, but the same...
Read MoreThe day after
Rochester, NY The 4th was a great day, with sun, food, drink, and work. The whole group came over with the notion that mama nature may decide to let it out on us. It was hazy and gray for most of the day, but that didn’t deter Bryan and I from making the first lake entry of the summer. It was cold and a little bit green, but it had to be done. We had been attempting to dig up a log/tree that floated up on the beach a few years ago. Since then, the weather and the water have buried it. I would say it is 2 feet in diameter and 18 feet long. I was laughed at when I grabbed the shovels to dig...
Read MoreIn the AM
Rochetser, NY I type this with a fuzzy head and a grumbling stomach. It’s 8:30 AM and a busy day lies in waiting. My sister arrives back in town today from her cruise with her boyfriend and his family. My brother, his wife, and two kids arrive today too. That brings excitement and anticipation, but it also brings stress around the house. Wash the sheets, clean up my room which now becomes Season and the baby’s, paint the trim on the house, finish the walking path, and more of that stuff. This is an accelerated, last minute, honey do list. My mom just yelled up to me that I need to clean...
Read MoreBack on the scene
Rochester, NY After a few days of pondering, I’m back at it full force. Last night was the topper. I got a call earlier in the week from a friend of mine from high school. He and I go back. He and I (and my parents) road tripped it to NC to look at schools. We were thinking about going somewhere together. That didn’t work out. I don’t think he wanted to head to Little Rock. But he called and asked if I wanted to play golf. Of course I did. It was he and I, another guy from my high school, and 5 others from our rival high school, along with another guy who I’d heard of...
Read MoreHe’s back…
Rochester, NY I wrote a few days ago about having second thoughts. This is true. It wears on you after a while. But I think the main thing that set it off was sitting with my parents and their share group. The stability they have built is uncanny. I of course, I am the extreme opposite. Then on both Friday and Saturday nights, my dad asked if I’d like to go to dinner with them and their friends. The first thoughts were not what do I have planned. They were “how much does it cost? who is paying? is dad paying for me?” And that sucks. I am 29. I don’t want to have to rely on my...
Read MoreExpansion
Charlotte, NC The Harrison clan expanded by 1 yesterday. Jaimie Cecilia Harrison entered the world at 1:50 PM weighing in at a stout 7 lbs. 5 oz. Baby and mother are doing well. Congrats to Colin and Kim! They will be great parents.
Read MoreSecond Thoughts
Rochester, NY I left on this journey April 6. I thought about it for months prior. It seemed like the right thing for me to do. The first leg of the journey, the southeast, went better than I could have imagined. Everything fell into place for me. There was not a day that went by where I asked if what I was doing was right. The past few days have been filled with some second guessing. It’s been great to be home and hear positive feedback from people. But now the reality of things are beginning to settle in. Maybe it was going to Vegas and giving them some money. Or maybe it was going to...
Read MoreFriends
Rochester, NY I’m finally coming back to normalcy. After Vegas and all the talk of being tired, it probably wasn’t a good idea to stay up until 4 AM playing poker. But, I did it anyway. I had dinner with my parents and their friends. It was nice to be a part of their group for the night. They are tight knit and I know how much my parents think of all of them. I wrote earlier about how many people have you kept in touch with from 20 years ago? A lot of us are in our 20’s and 30’s. I guess the question would be how many of you have seen the same group of 10 people once a month for the...
Read MoreNothing
Rochester, NY I just got back to the lake after a three hour drive from Jamestown. I took the long way. A way that I had not gone before. It was a sunny morning and the scenery going east on 86 was incredible. Rolling hills, small towns, and the Allegheny River all were in view. I was accompanied by the Foo Fighters, Norah Jones, The Beatles and Linkin Park. I didn’t realize how expansive the river was. I wondered if this was one that you could canoe. I bet you could. I almost stopped to see if I could find an Indian to talk to, but we had stayed up late and I was ready to get home. I...
Read MoreJ Town
Jamestown, NY I may be traveling the country but I learned today I don’t want to do it Forrest Gump style. Today, I was running. Anthony is training for a marathon. I am not. We left Rochester yesterday around noon. We headed to the Anchor Bar for the founding of the buffalo chicken wing. We arrived and sat down below newspaper articles and best of awards. We ordered a bucket (50) of medium and spicy BBQ. We also had 2 Labbatt Blue Light’s (my favorite beer) each. The wings took forever to come out. I’m not sure why, but maybe it was because I was asking so many questions. I really...
Read MoreTuesday
Rochester, NY I’m sitting around the kitchen table, staring at the lake. The three from last night are here. It’s Tuesday, so they are talking with one of my Mom’s best friend’s, Mrs. Tomer. Mrs. Kirsch is listening in. We made it home last night just in time for mom’s lasagna. We had some Labbatt Blue Light as we walked the beach. Anthony bought a Cuban cigar from Niagara Falls, a Hoyo. He had one for my Dad for his bday, but Kennie is not a smoker. Anthony and I sparked it up. Very tasty and a little buzzie. I built a camp fire but Mother Nature pissed on me....
Read MoreAirport
Las Vegas, NV and Pittsburgh, PA Here I am, sitting in the airport, its 6:15 AM. My flight leaves at 7:30. I got here a bit early for me, but all weekend you heard about Vegas and the long lines and two hours early. I have been away from the CPU, email, news and all of that. Vegas sucks you in. I reached my Vegas capacity yesterday. I originally tried to get my ticket for departure on Sunday but they were all sold out. I tried to switch yesterday morning, but still the same deal. I type with a brain as fuzzy as I’ve had in a while. My eyes are red as the Northwest sign and dry as the air...
Read MoreRain
Las Vegas, NV I am MTV. I am Real World. I am Vegas. I have roused up at noon (3 EST) after hitting the sheets at 4:30. The room is moving about. Some are hurting pretty bad. Most of us are just worn out. Matt and I walked around during the day yesterday. He has never been to Vegas, so I showed him some of the casinos. We went to O’Shea’s where I won a quick hungie, then I showed him the Mirage and Caesar’s. Caesar’s is immense. I’ve been in there 5 times and each time I get lost. That gets annoying, but it is a spectacle. We had to leave Caesar’s because I had a 4:30 appointment....
Read MoreVegas
Las Vegas, NV Whoa. It’s 2:00 (eastern). I’m sitting in the hotel room at Bally’s watching a little U.S. Open Golf. It’s Matt, Brandie, and Courtney from Charlotte in the room. Matt and Brandie are married. We are all friends from Charlotte who know the couple getting married (Mike and Krista). I am glad I had a free ticket. Mom, I’m not broke, but yesterday was awful. I got to the Buffalo airport at 10:00, caught my 11:00 flight to Philly, and got on the plane from Philly to Vegas at 1:00. I got into Vegas at 9:45. It’s not an 8 hour and 45 minute flight. We sat on the runway for...
Read MoreI’m Home
Rochester, NY Another 8 hours in the car wore me out. I drove from Cincy to Rochester today. I had some drizzle in the AM, but after that it was smooth sailing. The skies were pretty cloudy. I jammed to a lot of O.A.R. They are great for driving or really anytime. Some Shins, Beatles, Lenny Kravitz, and Black Crowe’s made the time pass. I pulled into the cottage at 4:15. It was perfect here. 72 degrees, blue sky, slight breeze and quiet. I unpacked a little and made it out to the beach. I hit a lawn chair and chilled until my Dad got home. I wasn’t able to sleep, but I laid back and...
Read MoreWay Back
Cincinnati, OH You know how you say you go way back with someone? Well, I go way way back with the people I was with tonight. I was just in Memphis with my niece Hope. She is 2. She has a friend Ava that she hangs out with all the time. Their mom’s hang out, so they hang out. I was hanging out with my Ava and her family tonight. Tonight I saw pictures of Nikki and I when we were 1. Some when we were 2. And so on. She and I would take naps together, play together, take baths together…We were baby friends. Our parents were tight. They actually saw each other in Rochester on Sunday. Note...
Read MoreOut of Memphis
Memphis, TN Time to wrap up the Memphis leg of the journey. Today was spent running errands and taking acre of the girls. Brad was off to Tampa for work, so it was Season and her friend Colin. She came over to watch Hattie while Season took Hope to gymnastics. I’m all in for Vegas. I went to the airport this morning to use my voucher that I picked up the day I met Elizabeth Dole. Without that voucher, I couldn’t go. But, I’ll be on my way on Thursday. I’m hoping to do an interview or two there. I have a call in to the manager to a couple of the dance clubs there. I...
Read MoreParty Time
Memphis, TN I thought that staying away from late nights, chasing women, and too much alcohol would be relaxing. I am finding myself fatigued more in Memphis with the constant action of a family with two small children. We go and go and go. Today was a birthday party for Hope. Last night I stayed up what used to be a normal time but has now turned into a late time of midnight. I woke up this morning at sixish with the kids in the background. I knew today was a big day because the party was going to be here, in the backyard. At sevenish I was out back with Brad preparing. The morning went by...
Read MoreSports Talk
Memphis, TN I just got back from my earliest interview to date. A 7:30 AM start worked out great. I made it to Geoff Calkins house and we conducted part one of the interview on the way to his sports radio show. Geoff is the columnist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal. I told you how I met him. It was great to see him and bring back the PGA memories. As we talked I found it fascinating that I was sitting with a Harvard grad and Harvard law grad who gave it up to pursue his passion. He epitomizes my journey. His career took off. He cautioned me that not everyone is as lucky with a mid life...
Read MoreColonial Country Club
Memphis, TN I already stated the goal: break 80 at Colonial Country Club. The Colonial Country Club where they used to play the PGA tour. The CCC where my mind locks up and I can’t seem to get over the hump. The CCC that measures 6,991 yards form the tees we play, a 74.8 rating, and 138 slope. If you don’t play golf or if you’ve never played Colonial, it’s tough. I was more relaxed than usual on the way to the course. I was fired up to be playing golf, especially there, but I was still calm. 80 was in my head. I met the guys at the course: Brad, David (Brad’s father-in-law), Greg...
Read MoreToys and Snacks
Memphis, TN I’m back in the nursery. I neglected to say that this is my room for the long weekend. The NBA Finals are on the tube, volume down low. I forgot to mention that there was a guy who writes in a journal who predicted the Conference Finals correctly – Lakers and Pistons in 6 games. Cash that in. Too bad I wasn’t in Vegas to place that bet. As for the Finals, it’s not really fair since they’ve started. But I’ll say Lakers in 6. As I type it is the 3rd quarter and 60 – 44 Detroit. I started off the day with a 9AM interview. I had set up a time with my brother’s friend...
Read MoreFarewell to the Rock
Little Rock, AR It’s a sad day as I prepare to leave Little rock. My two weeks (it went by fast) have been way too much fun. I could see myself settling in LR later on down the road. I have some great friends here and the outdoor activities are a big draw. But, as the traveling goes, I am leaving to day to head to Memphis. As sad as I am to leave the Rock, I am really looking forward to seeing my brother, his wife, and their two kids, my nieces. Hope is 2 and Hattie was born a couple of months ago. I haven’t seen Hattie yet and Hope will have changed so much from last time it will...
Read More