Open Your Golden Gates

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

I am ready. I have packed, and repacked to make sure that I have sufficient room to take what I must for the IAL convention in the San Francisco area and for the WW table and to have space to get goodies and take them home. My ride arrives on schedule -- 8:30 a.m. The day is warm and sunny. I am on my way. I get to the Indianapolis Airport. This is my second time at the new terminal. No problem checking my bag at the Southwest Airline counter. I have time for breakfast.

Café Patachou has a spot in the concourse of the terminal. It is a small, local, group of restaurants in Indianapolis. Locals know it, or should. The Café offers locally grown, organic foods. It specializes in breakfasts, though has sandwiches and salads. The three egg omelets are yummy to say the least. I have a bacon and Swiss omelet with their signature cinnamon toast -- thick slabs of sour dough bread toasted, buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, just like mom used to make. Comfort food, to say the least. It comes with a cup of mixed fresh fruit, blueberries, apple, orange, pineapple and grapes. I touch bases with Pat by cell phone while I wait for my order.

Stoked with a good breakfast (a necessity when starting a long day of travel) I head for the gate. No problems with the security inspection. I had forgotten to take my Servox out of the bag, but it did not raise any concerns. When I get to the gate, I find Mary Jane Renner waiting to get on the plane. The day has begun well. We get front row seats and take off. We have two stops along the way -- Phoenix and Las Vegas. But, we do not have to change planes. In Vegas, Pat joins us for the last leg of the flight. She had gotten a hurried bite to eat as she changes planes so she is the last to board.

We arrive in San Francisco about 25 minutes early. Of course, that early arrival is lost to slow baggage delivery. Such is karma. Pat and I head to the hotel courtesy shuttle. Unfortunately, we have just missed the shuttle. It only runs once an hour, so we have a wait. But, the weather is great. Sunny but not too warm and there is a breeze. The van finally comes. The driver is a very nice man who comes from Hawaii. The trip is about 20 minutes.

Entering the Hotel lobby we see John Ready. Ed Chapman with Barb and Yvette enter, Joanne Fenn is there. The fun is about to begin. I check in and find my room. A quick hanging of my banquet coat and slacks and a change of seals (it has been a long flight), I am ready and I head to the bar/grille. We are at a large round table. Ed, Barbara and Yvette, Michael and Lisa, The Vander Hogens, then Mary Jane, Pat, Joanne. We keep adding chairs.

Anthony Martin, our hotel contact for the banquet comes by at my request. With Libby out of the action, Pat and I have taken over the lead on the banquet. We go over the plans briefly with him to make sure everything is going smoothly. Very helpful guy.

A few drinks and a light dinner. After dinner, we head to the hospitality room and see those that are there. Bob and Leslie Herbst, Tina, Sapp, David, Ed, many others and even Noor Ali from Pakistan are sipping and noshing. Jim Lauder shows. He is in his signature Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers t-shirt. He has a Winchester (Don’t mess with Texas). Finally, around 9, I crash (give me a break, it is midnight my time). Tomorrow, Pat and I are meeting her cousin for a tour of San Francisco.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

I get up after a needed good night’s sleep. I start the day by writing (hey, I cannot disappoint the Golden Goddess who expects this missive for Whispers on the Web). But, I am ready for the day. Pat and I are meeting her cousin Leslie and her husband John. They are going to show us around the San Francisco area. While we wait in the lobby, we see Jim Lauder. He has just added Web Whispers to the latest edition of the Blue Book. He even gives me a copy. Wow, what a guy! We run into Dr. Singer and have a pleasant chat with him. I remember him from Boston, another giant in the field, and a truly gracious man.
Leslie and John arrive. We start our driving tour. We first go to the Palisades and drive down the ocean. The Pacific coast is like the Atlantic Coast, but on steroids.. While the beach and beach view property has a familiar ring to it, there is also a uniqueness that is hard to describe. We make many stops in our journey and take time to walk around and take pictures of the ocean and of fantastic architecture. We work our way to the Golden Gate Bridge and stop on the Frisco side. Then we drive over to Marin County. On the other side, we make a brief stop at what was once (or may still be for a time) a military base. A sight seeing group driving in an old fire truck has also stopped and the riders are having their pictures taken while wearing fireman gear.

We drive down to Sausalito It is a beautiful little seaside artist colony and all around beautiful city. It is getting late, so we stop for lunch at Scoma’s, a restaurant on the bay. Catches Pat's eye because the sign has the c looking like a curved t for stoma! The food is exceptional. Sourdough bread starts us off. Then a cup of very nice New England Clam Chowder. The pan seared sea bass with avocado salsa (why it is called salsa I don’t know but it is tasty) and scalloped potatoes and asparagus. What a meal. Followed by Tiramisu that is to die for, I am stuffed to the gills. Jim Lauder, Rick, and the German contingency come in for lunch just before we leave. I learn later that Jim considers Scoma’s one of the best restaurants in the entire area. I will always rely on Bwana Jim’s word for that.

We work our way back to San Francisco. The fog hangs over the hills and the temperature drops twenty degrees. I am glad that I brought my WebWhispers jacket.

We stop at a couple museums just to see and walk the grounds. We drive up the highest hill in the area to catch the view, and what a view it is. The city is magnificent. We drive up steep streets where you cannot see the ground before you when you reach the top. I learned to drive a stick as a teenager in Pittsburgh, PA, but the Big Burg has nothing on Frisco. Frisco takes the cake and that is saying a lot. (Hey western Pennsylvania, have you considered hosting an IAL meeting? Pittsburgh is one great and lovely city, just a thought). We drive down the curviest street in the world. I take a movie as we descend.
We tour through the Castro, Haight Ashbury, the Presidio, by the original mission, by city hall, through little Saigon, through China town.. All the areas are different and all are charming.

Leslie and John take us to their home, which they have recently remodeled. To say that I am jealous is an understatement. The three cats run from us. Later, however, Penguin, the big long hair allows Pat, and then me to pet her. Her shyness has given way to smart cat affection wanting. Or, she just recognizes two people who know how to pet a cat.

Finally, after a long day, we return to the hotel. I stop into the bar to see who is there. Jim Lauder and the German contingency are having drinks and ordering dinner. I first plan to drop stuff in my room and join them, but when I get to the room I realize that I am tired and I have to get up early and help Pat set up the WW table, and if I join Jim, well, discretion sometimes is the better part of valor. Tomorrow, the Annual Meeting begins.

Thursday, June 25, 2009 (this must be THE DAY)

I am glad that I did not stay up to all hours on Wednesday. I start with a quick trip to the Internet to check my e-mail, the news in Indy and to read the comics (an integral part of starting a day). About 8, I go to the vendor’s room where the WW table will be set. Pat arrives, as do Michael and Lisa and Ed Chapman. After a few tries, we figure how to attach the WebWhispers banner to the front of the table. We set out brochures, information on the new 2010 cruse to Quebec, the seating chart for the banquet and special dollar store wind up clowns on tricycles and midway games. The table takes a festive aura. Michael will later add a stuffed Eric Cartman to the décor!

The IAL Annual Meeting begins with a keynote address by Mark Singer, the Singer in Blom-Singer. Dr. Singer, a most gracious man, tells of his early days as a surgeon, his move to Indianapolis, and collaboration with Eric Blom to develop the speech prosthesis and procedure that bears their name. His talk contains much information and humble humor. A good start to the day.

After the talk is a break, the first time those in attendance explore the vendor’s room. Activity begins at the WW table. We soon discover that there may have been a problem in the on-line reservation system for our WW Dinner. We had some people say that they had made reservations on line but we had not received them. But, we have a few more. Now one or two problems can be the result of user error, but more suggests that something may have gone amiss. When they send in, it goes to two of us so there is no chance we miss one... but neither had gotten these. We'll check further on that. In reflection, I will change how I deal with credit card transactions. The good news is that we were able to accommodate those with problems and we know that even if they sent in a credit card transaction via a WW link, their card will not be automatically charged, I do that by hand.

At lunchtime, Ed, Barb, Yvette, Michael, Lisa and I decide to try outside of the hotel. We walk to a little sandwich shop in an office complex right next to the hotel. The sandwiches are very good, quite large, and very reasonably priced. Brought back one for Pat and Donna McGary to share. That afternoon, Donna and I walk to Trader Joe’s and the stores around it. Trader Joe’s is a great chain of grocery stores. We have them in Indy. They have good food at superb prices and some special stuff. I try to find some of their Organic Ginger Snaps, but, alas, they don’t have them that day. The exercise, however, has been good.

Back to the hotel. We go to the banquet room for final preparations. We move a table to the floor to hold the awards. The podium goes on the stage so people can see Pat and the other speakers. We move a row of tables from the front to the back to give us more room. Barb and Yvette had folded the new WW Dinner programs. They look great. Carla brings the table decorations that Libby had sent her. Upon opening, some pieces are broken. Carla to the rescue, She grabs a ride and gets some replacement parts, and she and Lisa make some nice decorations.

Time to retire to the room, get a shower and change. A little after 6 I go back to the dining room to make sure we are ready. The Bruce Medical beverage reception begins at 6:30. People are still trying to get seats to the dinner. It's wild but we find places for them all.

At 7:30 the doors to the room open and the crowd enters. A hit of the gong gets their attention and Pat directs them to their chairs. We open with a toast to our founder Dutch Helms. Then the eating begins. The meal is excellent. There is a mixed green salad with a very nice balsamic vinaigrette dressing, roasted vegetables, cheese tortellini, beef stir fry and salmon. The deserts are rich brownies and a delicious chocolate mousse.

For the program, we start with a series of talks about the early days of Web Whispers, all members from 1996/7. Wayne Baker, John Ready, Carla Gress, Pat Sanders and I give our memories of the early years. Then, Jack Henslee reads a poem by the late Frank Morgan. This year, we have listed the memorials on the new program instead of reading them. We have a moment of silence to remember those who have passed beyond, while Bob Herbst slowly rings a gong. The sound of the gong carries throughout the room and lends solemnity and beauty to the moment.

Then it is award time. Michael Csapo is this years very deserving recipient of the Casey Cooper Laryngectomee of the Year award. He accepts with the grace and humor that have helped to earn him the award. Grace that is until he tries to take out (unsuccessfully) the stairs to the stage. A nervous but happy time.
Next, Richard Crum accepts an award for InHealth Technologies for all the support that they give us, including underwriting (with Bruce Medical) the banquet. Richard then passes out the Dutch Helms Travel Grant checks to Debi Austin, Majella Best, Jeff Vanden Hogen and Charles Smith. Richard Najarian and Bruce Medical Supply receive an award for Bruce Medical’s support of WebWhispers by hosting the pre dinner reception and for underwriting (with InHealth) the banquet.

A quick word about Marriott. Anthony Martin the Director of Events for the hotel and our Major Domo, Jose, Barrientos, the Banquet Manager have made our lives easy. They have been a dream to work with. It has been a pleasure working with them. They have done the Marriott Hotel proud. After the banquet we go to the bar (what a surprise). We surround the large round table, adding chairs as people arrive. Heck, this is drinking, not eating. Ed, Barb and Yvette are there. Michael and Lisa attend. Donna McGary and Linda Rainbow add to the charm. Richard Najarian joins the crowd. I sit between Donna and Joanne Fenn. Good company! We toast the night and the recipient. Two rounds, much pleasant conversation, and it is time to go. I return to my room and get mostly packed. I have the gong and the awards that need to be sent. Fortunately they are in boxes so the beer that Ed used as a baptismal wash has dried without reaching anything within. Tomorrow I must fly to Indy.

Friday, June 26, 2009

I sleep until a little after 7, not bad for me these days. I begin the day with my ritual reading of e-mails, comics, news, and decide on a large breakfast. I will be traveling all day and food on planes is almost non existent these days. The buffet is excellent. They have Lox and they have bacon. I am very happy. People trickle in. As I am about to leave, I see Jahn. He comments that he got to bed early and sober last night. I feel the apocalypse. I hope that Lauder and the German Contingency make up for lost time on Saturday.

I return to the vendor’s room one last time to see my peeps. Pat and Michael and Ed are at the table. Jim Lauder takes a look at my Servox and makes some adjustments. He even tells me how long it has been since it was tuned. I make my last goodbyes and take the shuttle to the airport where the line to get through security is long and slow, but steady. I find a seat and plug in and start writing. A deadline approaches and I must not disappoint the Golden Goddess.

The first leg of the flight goes to Chicago. The plane is one of those huge jumbo jets, over 300 people and it is full. Thank goodness I have a window seat in a 2 seat row. The flight is non eventful. In O’Hare, I get a Chicago Style Dog. Now a Chicago Style dog is a work of wonder, It has a Vienna all beef hot dog, yellow mustard, relish a color of green found nowhere in nature, hot peppers, cucumber, tomato and a dill spear. Celery Salt is sprinkled over everything, but I skip that. The only problem here is the dog is a jumbo dog and that is too much dog for the mix, the peppers are larger than the classic small sport pepper, but still mighty hot. I eat one. I am refreshed and ready to wait for the final hop to Indianapolis and home.

Golden Gate Bridge	Golden Goddess and the Golden Gate Bridge	Scoma's
Scoma's	San Francisco	San Francisco Downtown
Seting up WW Table	Dr. Singer	A rare picture of Jim Lauder in a tie
Pat working the WW Table	Awards	Awards
Table 1	Bob Herbst tends the gong for the departed	Casey Cooper Winner
CC Winner	Dutch Helms Travel Grant Winners	Richard Najarian
Tom & Dorothy Lennox	Donna McGary	Jeff Vanden Hogan
Bob Herbst & Richard Crum	Voice Institute Project Scholarshp Recipients