Revisiting an Old Lover: They say that you should never go back and visit an old lover, for a variety of reasons. When the trist is over, move on.

This week I was thrust into the face of an old lover, and I found that the love was gone. My old lover was the road. I spent 4-5 nights a week on the road in my previous career and this week I was forced to travel again. It was the first time that I have been away from my family in nearly 5 months. The trip itself was okay. I went to Columbia SC to a meeting that included some great training and I met some terrific people. But the road life itself made me realize some of the reasons that I came to so dislike it.

First, missed flights. Going in I was delayed (ice) and made my connection with seconds to spare. On the way home I decided to catch an earlier flight and got it, but then lost my drivers license and they wouldn't let me board (go figure!). After twenty minutes I found it hiding in a place I never would have thought to look, my wallet. I ran to the gate (2 minutes after boarding was to start) to find that it was delayed (fog from 10 hours previous in the day - makes sense). Now I can relax a little. Oops, forgot that since I was delayed that I would miss the connection, and I did. For some reason originating flights are always delayed but connecting flights have impeccable punctuality records. Good news is that the next flight to Nash Vegas was only about an hour later and I didn't have to wait for my original/original flight which would have brought me home at about midnight. But, that would have been too easy. As I sat in the boarding area they announced that the crew for the flight was delayed on another inbound flight (something about a sandstorm in Egypt earlier in the year, they were just backed up). I was certain that I had seen a crew sitting in one of the bars as I was walking through the terminal and thought that we might just ask them to take the shift. But, then I realized where I had seen them and thought better about having a drunken crew flying a plane that I was on. Forty-five minutes later we were getting on the plane. When we arrived at Nash Vegas there was another plane at our gate and we had to wait ten freakin minutes for them to pull out. The thing that drove me nuts about this was that there were plenty of other gates that were empty. Its like these old ladies at Wal-Mart who block the parking lot so that they can get one of the up front spaces. The store is the size of a football field, what difference does 20 feet in the parking lot make?

Second, bed time. I have been married for nearly 22 years and I am just used to sleeping with my wife. I get to the hotel and there are all these terrific shows on cable (Forensic Files, Cold Case Files, Law & Order, you get the picture) and the next thing I know its like 4am and I know my alarm is about to go off. By the end of the week I am sure that I hadn't a total of 8 hours of sleep. If we ever get satellite at home we will need to have Tivo.

Third, drunks. I happen to work with some of the worst alcoholics that I have ever encountered. These guys live for the consumption of liquor. Now I traveled with some people who like a beer (one who made his own, that’s kind of cool), and one who had a glass of wine with every meal. But these people live for it. On one night we had an evening activity planned. So, the crew went drinking before, and had lots of booze during the meal, and I am pretty sure that they went to the bar in the hotel afterwards (because it is a pattern that I have seen many times). And so, these individuals become known not for what they do for the company but by their reputation as drunks. Even other drinkers mock them behind their backs.

I have never been so anxious to come off the road. It was a long (left on Sunday) and I am weary today. Next week I have a couple of days in St. Louis and then I am off the road except for vacations. I want to make my wife a manager so that I can take her with me. I just can’t figure out how I can also make my kids a part of the team. Maybe someday.