I love my day trips. It is one of the few times I can unplug from everything and think. No email, meetings, household chores or children needing my attention. Pure brain time. (and I need it these days, since I've left the gas on the grill twice running our tank down to empty).
My trip last week to EconAds started out great with a wonderful segment on a book about the soul's journey through the different rites of passage. I love psychology, especially Jungian. And even though it was 5am, I was hesitant to leave my car to go catch my flight. I was so enraptured by the segment, that I tried to look it up online when I got to the gate. Fate would have it that I didn't get through (thank you Mark Silva at Real Branding). The book is Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness & Community in a Fragmented World. The author Bill Plotkin spoke about these rights of passage of the human soul and our need to connect with nature (he actually posits that some mental illness is because we are so disconnected from the natural world and struggle to figure our how we fit in). Unfortunately, my first task of the day ended in failure. I couldn't remember the URL to get more information about the book. I twittered about it and my first "hero" responded. Mark Silva from Real Branding found the URL for me. (animas.org - I was typing animus.org)
Good karma and lessons were in store for me - more connections with everyday heroes. I left my wallet on the plane. I flew Midwest Airlines (love that carrier - can't beat all business class seats and chocolate chip cookies). Well, it was an early morning flight and I bought a bit to eat. I couldn't reach my bag to put my wallet back and sat it in the seat beside me. I knew when I did that I would leave my wallet - and I did. My second everyday hero was the flight attendant or cleaning crew member (or even un-named passenger) who found my wallet and turned it in. The third everyday hero was Reuben the day manager at MidWest Airlines LaGuardia who took the time to find my "In Case of Emergency" card and call my husband. After my husband recovered from his initial heart attack (Why is my wife's airline calling me? Did the plane crash?) He was happy to take down the instructions that I needed to get my wallet back. Thank you so much everyday heroes. I don't even want to imagine the headache of trying to get back on the plane without id (it was a day trip) or cancel and reinstate all my personal cards like driver's license and credit cards. I compare this experience with the horrible experience that Joseph Jaffe recently had with Delta (jaffejuice - Delta Skelter).
My last everyday hero was my good friend Tim Peter. My trip to NYC and EconAds was short and sweet, but, you still need money in the city if you are going to eat. Thank you for a great sushi lunch when I had not a dime to my name that day.
There was an amazing electrical storm that night as I drove home. Less than every three seconds there was a new lightning bolt and it lasted for at least an hour and a half (seriously - ask anyone in KC. Lightning even caused a fire that night). It was beautiful and reminded me again about the rites of passage of the human soul and our connection to nature. May we all celebrate the everyday hero.
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