Part 1 of the 2fer

For someone like me, this morning’s departure of our Cornell cohort was the first part of a 2fer.  That is, Cornell was supposed to depart for the airport at 3:40 AM and then our Columbia cohort was to depart for the airport at 4:30.  This morning I had two departures for the price of one.

For all intents and purposes, this meant that there was one fewer “get up” in the middle of the night to see our intrepid sojourners off.  Considering how tired I am right now, that would seem like a good thing.

We work diligently with our ILCers to teach them life skills that may be of some value to them as they move onwards and upwards.  One of those skills is the value of being on time.  As you might expect when working with young people, we’ve had a few incidents where an occasional ILCer might arrive at a function past the agreed upon start time and there have been consequences.  Tempers flared, harsh words were spoken and tears were shed.

I’m pleased to state that with all three of our ILC cohorts that have departed for the east coast so far this year, they have all arrived on time for our pre-departure ceremony.  If ever there was a way to get on the good side of Good Don and to keep Evil Don away, being on time is it.  I thank all of our ILCers who have helped in this way.  Evil Don can wreak havoc on the world and getting him back in his cage can be a daunting task,  It’s best that he never be invited out in the first place.

Considering that it was 54 degrees, the Bay Area summer fog made the air a bit damp and the wind was kicking up big time, when the airport shuttle arrived early we had no problem in coaxing our ILCers to board the shuttle early.  I never got inside the shuttle but I’m betting they had a heater in that shuttle and it was a welcome relief for the entire group.

As you’re looking at this group photo you may be wondering why it is that everyone is smiling except Frank and Calvin.  I really shouldn’t speak for them but I’m betting that while the group was standing in the cold having their photo taken, Frank and Calvin both were thinking about that nice warm bed they left and wondering if there was any way to crawl back under those blankets for even a few minutes.  I know that that’s what I was thinking at the time so it wouldn’t surprise me if they had similar thoughts.  The difference, though, is that they’re on a plane winging their way to a stay in Philadelphia right now and as soon as I hit the UPDATE button I can actually crawl back into my nice warm bed.