My Summer Vacation (Part 4)

So here's the last installment of my summer vacation. I went to Chicago to present the conceptual combination research I've been working on for the past year. Conferences are to Psychologists like Festivals are to Deadheads. All kinds of great presentations and posters. I got plenty of great comments from people at the poster sessions. The cool thing was I was a virtual unknown, but I was among the giants of the field. The best part: the giants liked our work!

I took in the town some while I was there, but I was grading papers most of the time. It was a liberal oasis! Obama and Kerry stickers all over the place. I felt really comfortable walking in town all day and all night. In addition to the conference, I got to see and tape Umphrey's McGee. A piece of advice: Do your best to get to a jam band's home town shows. They rock even more than usual because they're playing to a home crowd.

I flew out of Dallas to get to Chicago. Saturday (7/31) was an overcast morning in Chicago. We were above the clouds at 30,000 feet before the pilot took us down. It got me to thinking...there's always sunshine above the clouds. What does that mean? Quite simply, no matter what bad stuff might be happening in your life, you can rise above it and see a better day.

Nothing but kindness...