As I travel, I am always looking for someone to go to dinner with, share a barbeque sandwich lunch and so forth. If you are in the area of any of these events (or along the way, since I often drive), give me a call on my cell phone (404.822.3412). I would be delighted to visit with you. Also, I accept a limited number of trips per year to mills for reimbursement of travel expenses only (I am a cheap date). I like to visit mills and talk, and I'll be happy to hang around a day or two and talk to your professionals, shift teams and so forth, in a formal setting or just out in operations. Contact me for arranging such a visit. One caveat: clients may require my presence at a time or place that conflicts with these. Clients get priority for every date but my wife's birthday or our anniversary. 11-12 Jun 09--Gulf Coast Tappi, Montgomery, Alabama 21 Jul 09--Minnesota (more details to follow) Road Notes: Wednesday afternoon I found myself in the unusual situation of driving down the road with time to kill. Usually, I am trying to get from one place to another quickly. Driving down Louisiana Route 1, near Amistead, I came upon a cattle auction operation. You can always tell what day of the week they hold auctions--the lot is full of "gooseneck" livestock trailers pulled by large pickup trucks. Now, if you are from the city, there is something else you don't know--these auction houses always have a restaurant with some of the best "blue plate special" meals you can find. I stopped. Went in to eat, and met some very jovial ladies running the restaurant. On the wall, it said "Desserts: $2.45". I asked what they had--they said they had lemon pie and "Kool-Aid" pie. I decided I had to try out "Kool-Aid" pie. "Willie" told me to sit down and she would bring it to me while my hamburger cooked. "Willie", and I mean this with all due respect, looked like the woman on a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix (not the modern one, the one about forty years ago). So, I asked Willie how to make Kool-Aid pie. She didn't tell me the quantities, but you can probably figure it out: Kool-Aid (in this case, orange) Cool Whip Condensed Milk Graham cracker pie crust. She had Mandarin Oranges on top. Mix it all up and put it in the refrigerator for one half hour. Delicious. After lunch I went into the auction arena. Boy, have these things changed over the years. Basic layout is the same--an auctioneer on a perch in a window with guys running the cattle through in front of him. The bidders sit on a tiered semicircle out front. But this one was air conditioned and the chairs were padded with arms. Beats the bleachers, heat and cigar smoke of days gone by. So, the next time you are driving down a road and see one of these operations, stop in and see how the other half lives. Being summer, it was neat seeing the kids there (usually) with their dad. One boy, maybe about 10, had on a patriotic " 'do-rag", new jeans and a new pair of cowboy boots WITH spurs. Kind of helps you forget the city for a little while.