At the VPA conference over the weekend, we got on the elevator on the 19th floor to go down to supper with some colleagues. There was a uniformed man in the elevator with his arms full of boxes. I went and stood next to him, where I could easily see an original painting of a Navy ship and an Admiral at the top of his burden.
Turns out the elevator man was heavily involved with the commissioning of a new Navy destroyer, the USS Nitze. The ceremony was set for the next day at a nearby Navy base, and the elevator man had a crew of sailors helping load government vans with items for the ceremony the next day, including a huge floor mat bearing the ship's seal.
I wish that I could have worked things to go to the commissioning ceremony and take part in the VPA conference. But alas, there's just one of me. At least we got to ride the elevator with the Navy man.
Posted by JRC at March 10, 2005 02:03 PM | TrackBack