My Week that Was - February 15

Detroit Metro Airport. 2/8/25 dwm

 Saturday was a travel day. My wife dropped me at the Dane County airport at 5am. I took my carry-on and personal item to join a couple dozen people going through security. Less than ten minutes later, the line was twice as long.

 Those situations make for good people-watching. Two stood out. The first man was wearing a Hamms Beer hat. The second had a Hamms Beer sweatshirt. 

 After getting through security, I saw the second and asked if there was a Hamms Beer convention. He said there wasn't, but was happy to tell me about the man cave with memorabilia for the beer made "in the land of sky-blue waters."

 The first flight was on schedule, we flew out of Madison at 7. As we taxied to the terminal in Detroit, I leaned over to ask the flight attendant a question. My seat was in the last row of the plane. She was seated at the end of the aisle on a seat reserved for flight attendants. I asked about the distance to the next gate given that there was less than 30-minutes to get there. I was shocked and surprised to see what happened.

She picked up the mic and announced a man in the back row had a tight window to reach his gate, would they be kind and let him get to the front of the plane, then looked at me and told me to go. No one else was standing, politely letting me get to the front where we waited for the jet-way to connect to the plane. 

As it turned out, my bag was gate-checked, so I had to wait for it anyway. I made it to gate A55 with minutes to spare and positive thoughts about human nature. When I told seat mates on the next plane what happened, both said they heard similar announcements where everyone got up anyway.

Two years ago, the connection out of Detroit was cancelled, so I was booked for a flight a couple hours later to Columbus, Ohio a 200-mile flight that took less than an hour. Then a flight to Atlanta, followed by an 8:30 pm ride into Myrtle Beach that landed after 10! 

This year, the plane left five minutes early and landed in Myrtle Beach a minute before noon. The weather was gloomy with fog and a cool 50. I called Uber for a ride to the hotel, where I was able to check in, work-out, and get settled.

Sunday I spent much of it on a bike, that will get its own blog tomorrow. I worshiped at Risen Christ Lutheran Church after pedaling over; it was nice starting the week right; the message, along with hymns were inspiring.

Later on, after the ride, I settled to write a couple blogs while watching the Super Bowl pregame show. That's why I chose to fly Saturday instead of Sunday. Because of what happened in 2022, I didn't want to take a chance of missing the game, so I flew Saturday. That flight was cheaper than flying Sunday, saving more money than it cost to stay an extra night.

A visitor dropped by. 2/10/25 dwm

Monday morning, the clouds were back and the temperatures were dropping. I grabbed a muffin for breakfast and opened up my laptop to do some work. 

It was while sitting at the computer I heard a bird call. It was a sea gull perched on the balcony railing, 10 stories above the ground, looking at me and checking out the room.

After the initial greeting, the bird remained on the rail, scanning the area in case he had to leave. The balcony sliding door may have been a mirror, but whatever it saw, it either didn't mind, or didn't care. I took so many pictures, the bird is going to get his/her own blog post later this month.

Tuesday was full of sessions, starting with a morning keynote by the president of Gustavus Adolphus College. A strong academic who worked in private sector with Medtronic and served on their board of trustees before getting named President. Rebecca Bergman has an engaging personality with wisdom and ideas she shared in a self-deprecating manner. 

Re-connecting with people at the conference is one of the joys I get by attending this particular conference. The Association of Christian Fundraising (ACF) is the new name and rebranded Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE). Since becoming a fundraiser in 2003, I've been a member nearly every year and attended at least half the conferences. It's a big enough group to attract high-quality speakers while small enough to be a place where you can make connections.

One speaker with a new book on Sustainable Giving (automatic monthly) was very good, and in a nice surprise, everyone in the ballroom received a copy.  That was nice. Dinner was on our own. I walked up the boardwalk to Black Drum Brewing where I ate during the 2023 conference. It was excellent, I had their southern fried chicken thigh with mac and cheese. Tasted great and very filling!

 

Taking off from Detroit after de-icing. 2/13/25 dwm

 The last night of the conference former major league baseball player Chris Singleton was the keynote speaker.

 

 His hometown is Charleston, South Carolina. In 2015, his mother, a pastor of the AME church there, was leading a Bible study when a white supremacist walked in and opened fire, killing nine and injuring one. 

  

Among the dead was Singleton's mother. In an instant, Singleton became the head of his household at a young age while losing his mom. After six years playing center field for four different teams, he's devoted his life to sharing the message that Love > Hate.

 

Thursday it was time to go home. It was a day after snowstorms crossed the Midwest and a day before the next system was expected. There were delays along the east coast but the first plane left the gate less than an hour behind schedule. 

 

I was concerned about the connection in Detroit because I was only supposed to have 30-minutes to reach the gate. While crossing the tunnel that connected Terminal A and the B/C terminal, I started running. It wasn't until after I reached gate C-25 that my Delta app indicated I needed to be at B-21. It would be difficult for two gates in the same terminal to be farther apart. There was another flight using the gate ahead of mine, though, because my plane hadn't yet landed. 

 

Instead of leaving at 4, it was after 5 before we were wheels up. With a little magic from the line demarcating the East and Central time zones, I got an hour back when I landed in Madison at 5:45! That's time travel!

 

My wife was waiting at the airport, I hadn't eaten since arriving at the Myrtle Beach airport seven hours earlier, so I was hungry and tired. After a quick grab-and-go dinner, it was time for a shower and time for bed.

 

Thankfully, I took Friday off, because I was out of energy and needed to rest and recover. Most of what I did was edit pictures from the trip and work on blogs for the week ahead.

 

I hope the start of this new week finds you at peak energy! Thanks for reading.