From Tuscany to . . . . Nebraska?

Does it get any more yin and yang than that?

                   TUSCANY

                                         NEBRASKA

On the surface, it may appear that way, but there was a purpose to the trip that fits perfectly into my From/To dichotomy.  This was a trip that included both detailed planning and let-it-all-go spontaneity, and contributed just right to my goal and the theme of this blog, an engaged life in retirement.

Let's start with what triggered the trip: an invitation to the College World Series of Baseball.  I have been invited to the event for 20 years by Talent Plus, a consulting firm I greatly relied on to develop scientific selection strategies, and which is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Knowing my history of playing baseball and becoming a baseball fanatic - - and please don't ask Mets or Yankees . . . . I'm bi-borough and go both ways when it comes to baseball - - they would invite me every year to see the CWSB in Omaha, Nebraska.  And every year I replied "Maybe next year."  What I thought was "That'll never happen."

But with retirement upon me, this became next year.

This would have been a completely different trip if I went the way that makes sense and the way I or any sane person would go: by air.  The way that makes sense now is to drive, because above all else, in retirement time does not limit opportunities, rather opportunities expand and even explode when time simply does not exist as a boundary.  Those of you still working know what I mean:  time is a fixed quantity.  In retirement, time is a variable quality.

Of course, some people hate to drive, but I'm not one of them.  I not only love to drive, but I especially love to drive my BMW model 6.  I knew I chose well on the first day I picked it up, when I got pulled over by a New York cop for a traffic violation, and instead of giving me a ticket, he told me "You did the right thing getting the 6, you know."  Home free.

So here was the detailed route:

Every stop along the way was planned, but the activities at each stop after the first two were made up along the way:

     Pittsburgh, where I grew up: dinner with Mimmy, my friend since the age of 8

     Oxford Ohio, where my oldest brother Rick lives: dinner at his home, with his wife Sue and        their daughter/my niece Alison.

     Louisville Kentucky: who knew what a cool city this is?  Certainly not this New Yorker. I went to the Muhammed Ali Museum, and so as not to get too mainstream, the Museum of        Bourbon.  Why I gave it up 30 years ago beats me.

     St. Louis Missouri: the arch is cool.  The rest of the city is boiling hot.  One night is enough.

     Kansas City Missouri: I went to a Royal game to begin getting me in the baseball mood, and      the Negro League Baseball Museum to enhance it.

     Nebraska:  I'll come back to that.

     Des Moines Iowa: the bridges of Madison County, and the Glore Psychiatric Museum.  It            would more aptly be named the Gore Psychiatric Museum.  The torture that was committed       in the name of treatment is truly stunning.

     Minneapolis Minnesota: arrived at last at a Loews Hotel, visiting with my predecessor and          mentor and friend Ken Abrams and his wife Jo-Anne.  The good people of Loews Hotels            put me up in the Prince Suite.  The lap of luxury is not an acquired taste.  You love it                  instantly.

     Chicago Illinois: another glorious Loews Hotel.  No rock star suite, but who's to complain           when your view  on July 4 was a perfect perspective for the fireworks display on Navy              Pier? And oh yeah - - I went to baseball heaven, otherwise known as Wrigley Field.

     Cleveland Ohio: there's only one reason to go and that's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.            My only regret is that I didn't take a week in this endlessly entertaining place.  And it                 reminded me that the first rock and roll concert I ever saw was the Rolling Stones in 1965         in Pittsburgh, and this shot is of the Stones right around that time.  What a memory . . . .

So back to Nebraska.  I stayed as a guest of Talent Plus in their beautiful Manor House.  For a New Yorker who lives in a 1 bedroom apartment, which is never as big as you want, to stay in a HOUSE is truly a unique experience.  If you live in a house you already know.  

Each evening some terrific Talent Plus baseball enthusiasts would take us all on the one-hour drive to Omaha to take in the 3-game final between University of Arizona and Coastal Carolina. I had never heard of Coastal Carolina either, so I had to root for them.  And they won it all too, bless their bats and hearts.  Seeing the games reminded me of the delight of the game below the major league level.  Power was not a factor . . . . no home runs in 3 games. Strategy and fundamentals were: get the first man on, move the runner along, bunt, hit the cutoff man, field your position artfully.

And just so it wasn't all play, Talent Plus asked me to address their entire home office at a lunch meeting, where I was asked to look back on my career.  Yes, it was all about From, but their being an alert, receptive, and intelligent audience made it all a heart-warming delight.

So in the end?      3465 miles

                              17 days

                              14 states

                              11 destinations

                              5 ball games

                               1 total blast!

Next Post:  Getting my UBER license!