I didn’t anticipate the hectic nature of our UK trip.
Scott and I were always running from train to underground to train to bus to taxi to underground to train, just making our connections by the skin of our teeth while we hauled our luggage up and down stairs, rarely seeing a lift (elevator). On many days, we didn’t have time to eat breakfast or lunch so we just grabbed items from vendors in the train stations to take with us. We were in a different hotel nearly every night.
And our luggage was its own story. I knew my arms were in for a workout with my 9 pound laptop and 2 pound power supply in one carrying case, everything else in a rolling luggage case that must have weighed a good 60 pounds.
But Scott had 4 pieces, his laptop, a briefcase, a rolling luggage case like mine, plus the killer: a loaded garment bag. Whenever we had to make our way up or down a flight of stairs — typically several times a day — he’d fling on the two lighter cases, their straps crisscrossing his chest, and then grab the two heavy cases, one in each arm, and lug them with a mighty groan, like a guy in a Strong Man competition who has to get to the finish line with a monster weight at the end of each arm.
No matter what time of night or day it was, the trains were always packed. And wedging our way onto them with all this luggage made it all the more interesting, as did the narrow stairways packed with rushing commuters. Add in the occasional rain and snow and constant icy north wind and it was a situation ripe for tension.
Through it all, Scott never complained. He’d give me a momentary ugly look and then punctuate it with a laugh. It was traveler’s hell but somehow we were loving it.
Since neither of us had ever been in the UK before, the mad rush to make our appointments made it imperative to constantly aske for directions. Scott took this on, as I had a harder time understanding the English accent, especially with the roar of the trains and traffic. His sig file moniker — “Your Friendly City Manager” — must get conveyed by his face because people instantly would smile and eagerly help us. The English may be famously stoic but they always melted whenever he approached them.
Of course, his style really worked its magic when we met with our hosts in whatever city we visited. His knowledge of European football and his familiarity with global issues and history made for easy and interesting conversation with whomever we were with.
Yes, his Powerpoint presentation was excellent… I pretty much expected that, given that he’s making presentations constantly as a city manager.
But for me, his skill as a blogger, banging out quick and interesting stories and summaries of the day’s events whenever we’d manage an internet connection, was something I didn’t fully appreciate till the trip was almost over. We knew we had lots of people following our trip and for him to match me stride for stride on the blogging — well, I was amazed. We were not only preaching blogging, we were living it, modeling it, demonstrating its usefulness.
It was a feeling of teamwork under fire that I’ve not experienced since Jeff Holte and I dashed about the US on our “classroom telecom” trips for McGraw-Hill back in the late 80s.
Scott, you are a true colleague, now a good friend, and a public servant par excellence. Eden Prairie and the wider world of civic leadership bloggers is fortunate to have you.
Well-done, mate. You were brilliant. Splendid, in fact.
Let’s have a pint at a proper pub when I return, shall we?
