TeamDuggan

Our friends Tony and Anna Grace joined us this week for a nice dinner overlooking the Central Valley of San Jose’. Both couples are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversaries this year. Theirs was a month ago, and ours is coming up Wednesday, June 17. We went to one of the few restaurants that has good beef, thus the full tummys!

Flying is great. Flying overnight is not. With all the travel I have done in my careers I have slept in many a strange place with no problem. Even sleeping on a thin foam pad on a concrete floor in a non-air conditioned house in Cartagena Colombia didn’t keep me from a good sleep. Changing time zones isn’t even a problem. But airplanes are different for me. I cannot, no matter what I try, sleep on a plane. For trips of five hours or less, that’s hardly a problem. I get lots of work done and even enjoy a good book. But on longer trips while everyone else on the plane sleeps, I cannot. This most recent trip to Brazil involved overnight flights between Rio de Janeiro and Miami and sure enough, I had to fly in a day early just so I could rest up before meetings began. And today, although I got home around noon, the whole day was a write-off.

But then I put it in perspective. While in Rio I attended a high-school graduation that took place in the hotel where many families of the victims in the recent Air France accident were staying. TV reports and trucks were everywhere and I watched as families tried to comfort each other and understand what the impact would be on the rest of their lives. Although air travel is extremely safe, when a plane goes down, the loss of life is tremendous and impacts many people. And after a crash there are many who begin to fear air travel. I always felt for my coworkers in consulting who ranged from nervous to downright terrified when flying. I’m not particularly brave, but air travel has never been a concern for me. In the grand scheme of things, not being able to sleep on a flight is a minor problem. For those families in that Rio hotel waiting to hear about their loved ones, my heart goes out to you.

Keri is officially graduated! It’s been a month since the official countdown, which began with “Keri Duggan Day” followed by a graduation party in Costa Rica, recognition at church, several dinners, and culminated in a cap and gown ceremony last Sunday! Of course, one of the most significant events was the North Carolina DMV giving our grad her NC driver’s license! Way to go, Keriboo!