nedsjotw.com

(Mike Sorohan)

NED: Mike, did you have any delays coming back from the conference?

MIKE: Funny you should ask that, Ned—

NED: It’s not really funny.

MIKE: …Now I’ve forgotten what we’re talking about.

NED: Mike, did you have any delays coming back from the conference?

MIKE: Well, I got to the airport about three hours ahead of time. I rode to the airport with IABC Heritage Director-Elect Mara Samuels, and—

NED: Name-dropper.

MIKE: —and when we got there, we discovered that Mara’s flight was delayed. And I thought to myself, “tough luck for her—at least I’ll be home by 8:00 p.m.”

NED: And then what happened, Mike?

MIKE: My flight got cancelled.

NED: Maybe it was God’s way of saying “Stay in New Orleans.”

MIKE: Perhaps. But I had to be at work on Thursday. So while all other people on the flight were racing to the US Airways ticket counter to rend their garments, I called my travel agent and got booked on an AirTran flight through Atlanta.

NED: Did you use the official JOTW Travel Agency?

MIKE: Do we have one?

NED: No.

MIKE: So anyway, I booked another flight. But I’m getting ahead of myself, because I know you have other questions.

NED: Did you see any other IABC people at the airport in New Orleans?

MIKE: Several. I saw a woman who served on the IABC executive board years ago, but I couldn’t remember her name.

NED: What was she doing?

MIKE: Walking toward the bathroom. I thought it would have been crass to follow her.

NED: Good decision.

MIKE: Thanks. The last time I saw Mara, she was heading toward the Continental gate, her fate uncertain.

NED: She might still be there.

MIKE: No, I talked to her later. She made it home. Her plane landed in an intense lightning storm.

NED: You got her phone number? Smooth move!

MIKE: She’s my sister-in-law.

NED:

MIKE: Well, this is awkward…

NED: Is it true that you found me standing in line to get a strawberry sundae?

MIKE: Yes. I had decided to walk a few laps, because, as you know, I wear a Weight Watchers® Pedometer and like to get in a minimal number of steps and as I was walking past an ice cream vendor, I heard someone call my name.

NED: That was me.

MIKE: It was you. I hadn’t seen you for hours. You looked different. You’ve changed.

NED: Does the JOTW web site look good on your Blackberry?

MIKE: It looks great. The writing could be better…

NED: Have you ever flown first class?

MIKE: A couple of times, mostly by accident. When my travel agent rebooked my flight out of New Orleans, she put me in first class—it was the only seat available.

NED: We have to get them as the official JOTW Travel Agency.

MIKE: Anyway, I think you and I are the only two people still reading this. I made it home at 1:00 a.m. How about you?

NED: I went to Chicago. I might still be there.

MIKE: Why don’t you know?

NED: Because you’re typing this.

MIKE: Oh, yeah.