Friday, February 20, 2009

Max said I have to

My Aunt Max told me that I have to blog about my recent trip to St Louis so I guess I'd better do it. My children were raised knowing that they had aunts and uncles but most importantly, they had Greats....My aunts and uncles were their Greats and all Greats must be obeyed, sooo, when Great Max says to blog, I blog.

I had to go to St Louis on business this week which usually pisses me off. Everyone else in my region is within 3 hours of our regional office but I have to drive for about 6 hours to get there. Not only that, but they planned the meeting from 1pm on Wed until 6pm on Thurs which meant that I would have to drive from about 6am on
Wed to get there in time, attend the meeting until 6pm, attend the "dinner" where I get to brown nose and kiss ass, (not to mention that everyone expects me to be outgoing, funny and witty) get up and go back to the meeting from 6am until 6pm on Thurs and then drive home until midnight or so. Fun fun fun!!


Anyway the hotel we were booked into was almost disturbingly inexpensive so I thought I'd take the opportunity to drive up a day early and see if I could hook up with an old friend that I had recently rediscovered on Facebook. God Bless Facebook!! Mike Princen was one of my best friends in high school and he worked for Momo at the Lone Wolf, a country western bar she owned for a while in the 80's. Kelly had run into his little brother at her 20th reunion and got them onto Facebook where he found me! I make the plans about 3 weeks ahead of time so I actually had something cool to look forward to.

I arrived in St. Louis early enough to get ready for my dinner date only to find why the hotel was so inexpensive. It was a Residence Inn with a weekly rate and none of the amenities that business travelers count on. No free Wi Fi, no breakfast, no wake up call and most importantly, NO BLOW DRIER!!!!! I had to race out to the nearest Target and buy what I needed and pay for the Internet connection so that I could warn my colleagues, who were scheduled to arrive the next day, about what they needed to bring. Against all odds I managed to get ready in time and Mike came and picked me up at about 630.

He took me to his beautiful home where I got to meet his beautiful wife and three VERY YOUNG children. Hard to believe that a guy who graduated a year before me has a three year old when my youngest is 15, and a half!! He remember back to our high school days how much I loved Imo's pizza, the best pizza in St. Louis and that's what we ate. Sorry Great Max and Great Don and Amy and Matthew and all of you dedicated food bloggers but yes, we had take out pizza and it was fabulous! We were able to reminisce for about 4 hours and I'm amazed at how much I actually DON'T remember. I thought I was happy back then so I don't know why I would forget so much but Mike remembers so much more than I do. Weird huh? Anyway, it was wonderful and I so look forward to seeing them again.

That wasn't all though. The meeting ended a couple of hours early on Thursday so I had a little time to spare. My very best friend ever from high school, Jean, also still lives in St Louis. We've always kept up with each other. Sometimes we wouldn't talk for a year, but we always found each other. We once went 15 years without seeing each other but we always talked. I lost track of her about 2 years ago when I had to get a new phone number and lost all of the data from my phone. I looked and looked for her on Classmates.com and all over the Internet. I had found her that way before but it wouldn't work for some reason this time. I was so worried that something had happened to her to prevent her from answering her emails etc. The only thing I could think of to do was to try to find her mom's house, see if she was still there and try to get a number. Now, I haven't lived in St. Louis since I was 18 that's 25 years but I managed to negotiate the highways, take the right exit and find my way there without any wrong turns! I was very proud of myself until I walked into the house and Jo ( Jeans mother) said to me " Oh hi Tracy, there you are. Come here and check on my Grandson for me, I think he's sick..." Like she'd been waiting for me and my absence had been very inconvenient. To her, I had only been gone for a second and came in handy when she needed me. Anyway, I got the number for my friend after doing several chores around the house and visiting with many family members. I was glad to just hear Jean's voice again and know that she's OK. I didn't get to see her as I had to drive all the way home that night but I got what I wanted, peace of mind

So, it might seem lame and tame for some of you but this was the biggest week I've had in a while. Now I'm looking forward to the girls coming home on the 6th and I promise I'll take pics and blog about that week! I can't wait!

5 comments:

  1. And they say you can't go home aqain. I guess there is another old saying proven wrong. Whats really nice is that you are doing it and having a great time. Keep it up. That's very good for you.

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  2. This comment is from Max:

    I loved the St. Louis story- and had been wondering what this trip was all about! I do love business that manages to also be pleasure. And I could just so imagine the sudden disappearance of all those years when you arrived at Jean's Mom's- I think once your part of the family you just are always are part of the family. So HURRAH for your ingenuity- and determination- and humor- and of course how alive your story becomes on paper. Can't wait to see al the pics of the girls! Aunt Max
    PS- And thanks for the blog- I needed this!

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  3. I think you didnt remember all that because your mind hasnt been able to go "there" for so long. Your past wasnt even aprt of you before, now it is, and it can be, and I am SOOO glad you got to see Mike and talk to Jean! Yay for Tracy Lucas!!!!

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  4. The fact that you just walked right in and got to work doing chores for Jeans mom is just SO YOU! I smiled reading this and am so glad you reconnected with Jean. Next time you talk to her, please tell her I remember her gentle spirit and loving nature very well. I can still picture what she looked like back then and for someone with MY memory, that's saying a lot! Love you T!

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  5. Oh and BTW, I LOVE IMO's!!!!!!!!!! I love take out pizza! I love frozen pizza! I love all kinds of pizza! But I love you more...and that's a fact.

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