Franklinsanity

7:45 am-930 am, Colby, KS and parts East:  I am distracted by back-to-back conference calls.  I process the following:

• I slept remarkably well at the Sleep Inn.  Sea level vs. 11,000 feet apparently a gift to my lungs.
• Kids, wife and dogs got themselves into the car quickly and quietly and fast – or so it seemed; I was trying to fit myself into the front seat with a backpack, a half-case of sparkling water; a boken (don’t ask); hiking boots; my cowboy hat; and 3 baseball caps – while also being told by the CEO that I was the one “chairing” the call.
• While I am chairing the call, we drive a long way; it’s flat and the road is straight.
• At various points, I am trying to understand something someone with a French accent is saying about market research.  Teddy is trying to decide if he’s seen an Alaska license plate.
• One call ends, and I make people stay on to have a call in order to talk about the call.  This is less inane than it sounds.
• I believe this is less inane than it sounds, until I realize that our team has already figured all the stuff out that I was figuring out as I blabbered at them.
• I acknowledge this fact, and then, proud of myself, keep blabbering.
• It occurs to me that the two guys on the call are doing a lot of the talking, but the woman on the call is saying the smartest and most practical stuff and otherwise staying quiet.
• This finally prompts me to get the hell off the phone.
• It’s still flat and the road is straight.
• We get the kids off their big present – road iPads – and turn on Harry Potter.

Very psyched, as we are heading to a B&B on a farm, for the other “luxury” part of our road trip.