Our appetite for travel went
unabated. With October already a few days old, Margo and I begin our fifteenth
year of working together for our company, Pyalla Technologies, LLC. Our client
list continues to grow and for that we are most thankful. What we enjoy most
though is the opportunity to spend time with our clients and even though the
global pandemic remains fresh in our minds, having the opportunity to reconnect
with friends and colleagues has been a reminder of just how much we missed the
personal connection during those lost years.
Travel may dominate our
calendar but then again, it’s not all work, work, work. There are hours where
we can escape the rigors of meetings to simply take in our surroundings.
Ultimately though, when you pack your bags solely by sight – this item should
be here and that item must be tucked in over there – then there is a brief
moment where we muse to ourselves, is this normal for folks like us? Or, the
light at the end of the tunnel is truly the light of an oncoming train?
Time with family seemed to
balance the time away from them. When it comes to our grandchildren, Margo spent
a number of hours most Sundays with them, but in 2023 it hasn’t been easy. Margo looks like she did draw the short straw,
facing numerous ailments and many times, it was with trepidation. However, plans are already being drawn up that
will remediate the situation about which more news will follow in the new year.
For those who travel through
Denver airport, you may be surprised to read of how Denver is now the second
busiest airport in the US (after Atlanta) and that is now the sixth busiest in
the world. Of a late afternoon, those of you that have arrived at Concourse B
will likely concur with Margo and me in that it feels like we are being frog-marched
to the exit. Waiting for connecting trains that take us back to the main
terminal is not for the faint of heart. Think of trying to get toothpaste back
into the tube. Or think of Tokyo subways without the presence of helpful hands
ensuring our safe entry into the train.
Margo’s grand daughter Ella –
pictured on the left - is now ten. Already she is showing the results of good
genetics as she masters robotics. Not just their assembly but the programming
of their movements as they are put to the test, battling the creations of
others. By all accounts as well as firsthand observations, she has not only
demonstrated understanding of the basics but also of the competitive nature of
the games being played. It was only a week or so ago, with the climactic
activity of our NonStop TBC 2023 Conference in Denver, Wreck ‘Em Rally,
that attendees were involved a similar activity. If only we could have snuck
Ella into the fray – I am sure our team would have won!
Margo’s twin “boys” (here
with their big sister) are now eight and continue to impress us with their
development. At birth, the odds were firmly stacked against them and as early
term preemies, the time spent in ICUs was a test of our support for our
daughter and son-in-law, Anna and Erich. To see the boys as playful as they
have become and to see how each has begun developing special skills in language
and math is impressive to say the least. Surgeries continue and some days its
harder than others for all involved but for the twins, they seem to meet the
challenges.
Shortly, Formula One cars
will be racing down the strip. From the restaurant at Bellagio and across to
Paris, the Las Vegas strip will echo to the roar of F1. Margo and I watched an
F1 race in Monaco back in 2004 and knowing as we do just how loud these cars
are – we heard them far out to sea as we sailed towards the port at Monte Carlo
– crowds assembled around the route will be in for a surprise. What wasn’t a
surprise when last we visited Las Vegas was the time spent with good friends,
Brian and Jan Kenny. Maybe you saw us? Just faces in the crowd?
Far from the crowds of Las
Vegas, there have been times this year when all it took was to walk the shores
of the Pacific Ocean with Brian and Jan. It seems now well-established patterns
that include a breakfast up at Summerland, just south of Santa Barbara. The
Summerland Beach Café is an attraction all by itself and yet, just a short
distance away, there are small waves breaking along the shore. So close to LA
and yet, so peaceful. Once again, we are treated to the anomalies that are all
part of life in Southern California.
When it comes to our
friendship with the Kennys, distance may on occasion be just as challenging as
at other times with family and colleagues, we always manage to find a way.
Along the way we have certainly enjoyed every opportunity of fine dining and it
seems that circumstances always create situations where a good meal is never
far away. For Margo and me this really reinforces the concept that Face Time
can only take you so far; investing in face time is its own reward for both of
us. Then again, would I like to be in the crowd for the F1 race in Las Vegas? I
will leave you to ponder that one without adding anything more.
Perhaps the photo on the
wall behind me provides a clue as to where I am seated. Or, maybe it’s the
presence of a gentleman with four gold bands on the sleeve of his jacket. Our
appetite for travel means that we spend a considerable amount of time at
airports and yes, this appetite of ours also extends to time spent in airport
restaurants awaiting departure. On this occasion, we were seated at Elway’s
Steakhouse and it is perhaps a reliable, indeed enjoyable alternative to
anything provided on a flight. Whether in the depths of economy or way up front
in first, it seems that every effort has been made to turn our thoughts away
from dining; Elways then has become a more than adequate substitute.
Flying remains our constant
companion. Whether we are headed out on a business trip, a short excursion to
catch up with friends or simply transiting to a planed vacation on a cruise
ship, the experience is almost always the same. Given our home airport is
Denver, we always plan on arriving three plus hours before departure. While our
history with United has rewarded us with lifetime Platinum status, we know that
simply navigating our way to the gate and onto the plane is never as simple as
it sounds. But it is always the same, once seated (and it seems we are finding
our way onto Boeing 787 Dreamliner) the overwhelming sense of relaxation sets
in. The horizons beckon and we have time on our hands to enjoy quiet time
together.
From a time before COVID, we
had established a pattern that included a voyage to Hawaii around late February
and early March where we celebrated birthdays and wedding anniversaries. We
established an addition pattern that included a voyage through the Caribbean
later in the year when it came time for holiday celebrations. We only
experienced a short break in this routine because of COVID – between March 2020
and December 2021 – but like what we experience that moment when we are finally
seated on a plane, it is our chance to unwind that entices us to return to
cruising.
The good news out of all of this is that with COVID, industry rapidly adapted to remote work. So much so that many enterprises face the dilemma that staff are reluctant to return to the office. For Margo and me, we have offices in our home – separate, as apparently, I am the noisy spouse – but with modern communications and easy access to the internet, for the past five years we have been able to work from almost anywhere. We are disciplined to the extent where we carve out time early each morning for writing while travelling for work and then late in the day, for responding to email. Another face in the crowd? If you are anywhere near a coffee bar and it’s four in the morning, you will find me heads down and bent over my laptop hammering away on the keyboard.
Over the past couple of
years, we have really grown fond of our neighbors, Don and Anne Marie Fowler. There
have been times where we have travelled together and whether it is just up to
Vale for a weekend or across to London for a cruise to the very top of the UK,
we somehow find very good places to dine. The Fowlers hail from Virginia and
North Carolina which are both familiar to me. My first serious business
endeavor was for a software company headquartered in Richmond Virginia and then
a decade later yet one more business endeavor that took me to Raleigh, North
Carolina. I have driven from city to coast and from state to Washington DC and
each time we converse with the Fowlers, a well-remembered landmark seems to
find its way into the conversation.
Margo and I can appreciate that there is a very serious side to Don as his business endeavors sees him crisscrossing the US and beyond. However, whenever we get together it is a much lighter side of Don we get to experience. This is what Margo and I have come to enjoy the most with time spent face to face with good friends. The shared experiences, the fine food and libations and yes, almost always, a scenic view. Only this past week we dined in the foothills above Boulder at the Flagstaff House, now the recipient of a Michelin star. We had been dining in this restaurant for thirty years and didn’t know it had reached this level of recognition.
By the time this gets posted
and you find the time to read this story, Margo and I will likely be on the
west coast. Our plans for the rest of the decade are being decided even as I
type. Simply put, we are going coastal. We have lived at altitude for three
decades and given how we both expected life in Colorado to be a time of
transition. Just passing through seemed to be our response to inquiries as to
what our plans were for the future. Well, that time has finally arrived. In
March we will be taking up residence in a condo near our grandkids and their
parents. As for what follows, the coming months will tell.
However, this story is only
just unfolding but what remains a constant for Margo and me is the fellowship
we enjoy with our family, friends and business colleagues. It is the faces we
remember most from this year – the times we have spent relaxing in the presence
of people we really like. It was Walt Disney who said, “To be successful you
must be unique, you must be different.” He had more to say on this subject but
I like these few words best of all. What Margo and I have achieved this year is
to be different and to be unique and in so doing, it will be left to others to
determine how successful we have been. But if it weren’t for everyone who
touched our lives this year, our uniqueness and difference may have only led to
us looking back on a very lonely year. To you, our family and friends, thank
you for playing a big part in what, for 2023, was our life!
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