To surf or not to surf? I had been tossing up the idea of hitting the surf for a little much-needed relaxation, at LB. Per Mustang Steve, and the on-site cams, it was pounding, large and in-charge. Five foot of swell. Certainly a lot more than I'd dealt with in a while, and too much for my fallowed skills, and the stiff and wretched state of my back and skills at the time (despite a Celebrex capsule), so I'd ruled surfing out already, by that point.
Harrington
SUMMONS
And that's about when, at 4:45 pm Friday, I was summoned to the conference room, on the admin, marketing and sales side of the house.
Now since I'd ruled out surfing, I figured I might as well use some quiet time to get some pages read, or work on a particularly challenging government/military benefits budget cutting story. I was likely going to be busy with one or other of those things until 7, anyway.
FRIDAY, THE DARK SIDE
Friday, around here, however, has on occasion, been a darkly portentous time for some, akin to an ill-fated appearance on the Apprentice.
Ask not for whom the bells tolls who have been called to late Friday meetings and exited not in quite the same state of employment as they entered.
So I made sure the cell-phone was indeed deactivated (according to the rules), puckered up and went in.
FAMILIAR FACES
One of the guests in the meeting looked a little familiar, and the other — no name on this guest as a resulting story is in press terms completely "unofficial" until it's published — I was well acquainted with, from a semi-chance meeting during a press assignment at Ramstein AB, Germany, a year ago, and again at another chance encounter at a conference in Dallas, in March.
Oddly, the first guest had been on my mind this morning, as I drove to work, listening to a CBS radio report on retail trends. Pat Farnak was proclaiming the business news with her typical semi-spin and I was again wondering how much of Farnak/CBS I could take as fact, and how much as hype, serving who-knows-who? I've heard stories there before, only to find they are way off-base. But that aside, I wondered if the trend in question was one that the first guest had gotten a piece of.
SERENDIPITOUSNESS
It is truly mind-boggling, the serendipity of thinking about a particular person in the morning, and having them turn up in your offices to your surprise, that same day.
The other guest, I could soon discern was an entrepreneur and business partner, not an associate, of the first guest. But since I'd only seen the Shark Tank twice before the series last ended, I did not recognize, nor could put a name to his face. You might do better. But the answer was:
COME LISTEN TO THIS
This was more of a "come and listen to this" session from the Publisher's point of view, rather than an unscheduled interview.
And there was a much to listen to, and a great deal of detail to digest, so even though I was introduced, it was not until an hour later that I knew the more complete picture of what and who I might be writing about.
REAL DEAL
As an editor and writer, it's interesting to see the real deal pitch men at work and in conversation, my boss included. They had come to get his take on the subject, and the pros and cons and pitfalls to avoid. And to smartly pre-empt and clear up the possibility of misunderstood motives finding their way via the wrong channels to the press. Now that is smart. Get the right story out there from your POV, before the 3rd-party twisted version comes in via the grapevine, as it surely will. The bigger the story, the more important it is to pre-brief.
That said, it was a rare privilege to see and hear how fluid the minds of such accomplished businessmen are in talking up and down the variables of the environment they are working with, doing what comes naturally to them. I marvel, but then I'm on the editorial side, and the closed doors view is something I only get to be privvy to, a few times a year.
Suffice it to say, down the road after a few interviews are completed, it's slated to be a story for the marketplace I cover, elsewhere in print (not on this blog).
SATURDAY OUT of THE QUESTION (OoTQ)
Back to the surf ... after all this is an "outdoors" blog.
Saturday a.m. was quite OoTQ — I'd missed two nights of sleep already and wasn't in any way disposed to setting the alarm for 5 hours sleep and 5 am. (You have teenagers and going to bed early is not a realistic option on Friday unless they happen not to be night owls.)
The chance of surf was quickly fading toward the risky window where dropping swell meet rising wind.
And that's pretty close to where it wound up — no man's land.
A 9 a.m. trip to Robert Moses to view incredible calm, but also incredible flatness, and rapidly surging crowds of beachgoers in search of the perfect beach day.
Not my scene. If there's no surf, I'd sooner do something else, or go home — and do something else. If I'm going to sit on a beach in the sun (not likely), out of politeness, there better be a breeze at least.
3 WAVES
Turned out Saturday a.m. was when the three waves came and went. Blink and you missed it. "You schnooze you lose." It was cool, refreshing, and worth the trip, according to Chuck.
But, it's unusual what can happen in place of a surf session sometimes.
OK enough indoors crap for one weekend. Time to take Gordo out to the golf practice range. There's some swing tweakage to be done.
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