The People That I Meet

Well, it's been a while since I have last written. I guess that I am not much in the mood when it comes to writing while I am at home. I enjoy as much time as I can get with my family and friends, and really am not able to get into the writing groove as when I am out on the road. I am starting to believe that the road life is a rather lonely one and that writing this blog is a way for me to communicate, even connect with people.

On the road I spend a majority with a colleague from work, up to and including 16 hours a day. Please, don't get me wrong, I enjoy the company and conversations that we have and I think we work well together. However, there gets to be a point in which all conversations that can be had have been had and all there is to talk about is work, especially as an install drags on, and on, and on.... The highlight of my day while on the road is talking with family at home. I will always make an effort to talk to my wife at least once a day, as long as I have good technology handy. Sometimes the internet connection is rock solid (for 1993) and/or cell phone service requires an aerial antenna the size of the one sticking out of Cartman's butt.

All that said to get to my point: sometimes it is a nice escape to have a conversation with a new person, face-to-face. The only people outside of the work environment that we get to have any type of conversation with is during supper: the waitstaff tend to be our captive listeners. Luckily for me, the waitresses and bartenderettes have a defense mechanism in place, and I have mine as well, that prohibits anything but menial topics of discussion: work and work. Most of the time, the conversations are superficial, namely about work, Denver, and as of late: Tim Tebow. That's fine, except when you have the same conversation multiple times with different people. Once in a while we get engaged in rather deep and personal conversations. This has happened to me during the past two installs and I'd like to share a little of these experiences:

Germany. I was looking forward to going to Germany primarily to check off of my bucket list driving on the autobahn. It was all that it's cracked up to be. Also, foreign trips tend to be beneficial to the old bank account, plus I get to experience a new culture. I know enough German to say "Thank you," "Please," "Beer," and "Receipt." So to find a bartender who speaks excellent English was a wonderful surprise. This gentleman goes by the name of Werner Castelrotto. Werner is one of those people that is genuine. He is very kind to others, an attentive listener, and above all compassionate. We were able to talk about our lives on the road and he was able to relate to what we were experiencing. His personal story is fascinating, but I will not go into details. Let's just say that he has overcome significant personal tragedies with a certain air of dignity. It was a refreshing conversation that lasted for about 2 weeks. Werner will be missed when we travel back to Germany in the coming months, but I do not think he will be forgotten. Brett has written about him as well in his blog, "Remarkably Unremarkable," if you'd like to learn more about Herr Castelrotto.

Pennsylvania. Or if you're a local: PA. Brett and I again teamed up for another install at the Keystone Generating Station. I've written 10 blog entries on that ordeal. We had the fortunate experience in meeting a part-time bartender, full time student, by the name of Dan Ross. We met Dan on the first, or second, visit to Ruby Tuesday. Remarkably he remembered who we were the next time we were there and he was working. Remarkable, because we had chatted with him for a bit while he was slinging drinks at the bar. He was kind enough to invite us to watch the Broncos game at a local watering hole, but was also open to conversations throughout our frequent, okay nightly, visits to Ruby Tuesday. Turns out he is finishing his degree in geology and will be starting work with a natural gas company in the spring of 2012. In short, Dan is the type of guy that would fit in with our group very well. Even though we only were around him for a few days, we were at ease with him as if we'd known him for a long time.

Two gentlemen that I've met in the past two months that made the unbearable, well bearable. My thanks to the both of them and I wish Dan and Werner nothing the best in life.

Frohe Weihnachten, Werner and Rene!

Merry Christmas, Dan!

Thank you for reading,

Kevin

p.s. Of course, Merry Christmas to my readers from coast-to-coast in the US and on both continents.