Trade Show Life

 I really understand the story that I got from a Business Friend of mine who is also a nurseryman:


The best reasons to go to trade shows. Fun people, great food, nice cities, and good times. Oh, I forgot about the work part, the original reason for being there in the first place. Sometimes that gets in the way.


Often, the hardest part of all is leaving home and getting to the show. By the time you see me calmly sitting in my booth at the show, you have no idea how much "paddling" I had to do just to get there.


Just last week as I departed for my back-to-back shows in OH and NC, is a case in point. By the time I did everything I needed to do before leaving the business for a whole week,

I managed to get to bed 3 hours before time to get up to catch my first flight. As I trudged down the stairs in the pre-dawn darkness with my bulging suitcase and attempted to turn off the light on the lower landing, I somehow misjudged the last step and wound up diving head first to the foyer. All because I was trying NOT to wake up my wife, mind you.

After what sounded (and felt) like a collision with a freight train, I momentarily lay at the foot of the stairs waiting for Pam to scream and rush down to my rescue. It was then that I realized that it must be too early for an emergency in our house.

So I then decided to go to Plan B, which was to determine that I was still alive, pull myself up and continue on my way. I arrived at the airport a little worse for wear but still with plenty of time to spare. I checked my ticket, went to Gate D26 which read Columbus, OH and waited for the boarding call. Which never came.

About 5 minutes before departure, I went to the stand and asked if there was a delay. The answer was no, and upon further investigation it turns out that I had misread my ticket.  Where my bleary eyes had originally seen Gate D26, a  refocusing revealed that the correct Gate was D25. And that plane was gone.

So now, I am 0 for 2 on the day, and the sun was barely up. I will not bore you with further details of everything else that followed this pattern the rest of the day, but suffice it to say that my original plan of arriving in Ohio at 1 PM with plenty of time to set up, go have my wings at Barleys, and watch the playoff games that afternoon (my annual tradition) didn't exactly work out. Instead I arrived at 6 PM, had to beg to get in the exhibit hall to set up after everyone else was done and gone, and then get to Barley's just in time for them to inform me that the playoff games were over and they were out of wings.

But guess what. It was a Great Day! I didn't maim myself, I didn't die in a plane crash, I didn't get terrible news from an oncologist, I didn't lose any friends or loved ones, and when all is said and done, I just had another war story to share with friends. It was a bump in the road, a blip on the screen. And last but not least, there are multitudes of people that would swap their bad day for this one. The next time you think you are having a bad day, take a deep breath and count your blessings.