Here is a podcast I was recently on. Honestly, I have not/won’t listen to it myself (for you Seinfeld fans, think of George having to listen to “Risk Management” on audio books 🤪), but hopefully it’s ok.
Warning, it’s long (but not Joe Rogan or Lex Fridman long).
Thanks, Andrew Silver, for a fun time and the opportunity to tell some LP stories.
I have not been to DC this often since back in the 60’s when we used to go down there to demonstrate as a student radical 🤪.
But now that I am older, wiser, and more mature (?) I hope to have a slightly different impact on things – or at least do it in a better manner 😉
I flew up Tuesday to attend part of the Ukraine Week activities. By luck, I got to sit next to RFK Jr, who was flying up from Florida after being approved by the Senate committee to be voted on as the next US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
I pretty much left him alone, but we chatted about a few things. He was very gracious and, I think, appreciated that I didn’t ask for a selfie hahahahaha. We talked about all the “theater” today in politics, and I mentioned that I had read the book “Thirteen Days in October” about the Cuban missile crisis when his Dad and Uncle (John F. Kennedy) had to navigate that. How “real” it was for them. It’s an incredible story and based, in fact, on his Dad’s diary from those days. Worth reading.
In the morning, Steve Scully and I visited the US Senate office of PA Senator Dave McCormick (we visited the other US Senator–John Fetterman’s office, my last time there a few weeks ago). I’ve met Dave a couple of times, and his staff knows Steve from his long career in DC. Their office is tucked away in the basement (he just got elected), so it was cozy. Not the office I’m sure he had up in Westport, CT when he ran Bridgewater 😉. But where he will hopefully get some good things done.
At the event (view the daily recap here), there was a prayer breakfast that I missed where Vice President JD Vance spoke, along with Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. My “main event” was the session of the US-Ukraine Business Council. Now, I’m not really good at these kind of events, but luckily for me, my son Derek is, and everyone there knows him and thinks the world of him. So the opening of every conversation with all the “bigwigs” there starts with, “Oh, you must be Derek’s Dad. Great to meet you. I think the world of him”. Easy icebreaker for me 🤪
At the Biz Council, lots of high-end folks from Ukraine, US industry, and the government. Sentiment was fairly optimistic that the Trump Admin is working hard to end the war and ensure Ukraine gets a fair deal out of any settlement. Most everyone there thought that would be the case. And EVERYONE there stood in awe at the strength, courage, and innovation of the Ukrainian people and what the future can hold for them once this war ends.
I met some very interesting people, which will lead to new connections and opportunities for LP to continue supporting Ukraine’s war efforts and reconstruction. A worthwhile few days.
I know most all of you know about how we have been leading the way in supporting Ukraine’s valiant fight and their people, reflected in this cool tag we have been using:
We are part of the Global G7 Ukraine Advisory Council, finding ways to help Ukraine’s energy needs and eventual reconstruction.
Just like we were the company that brought the first freight aircraft into the US after 9/11 to support GE’s locomotive schedule (not going to let the terrorists stop the US economy), and how we sent people down to New Orleans the day after Hurricane Katrina hit, and a million other times we have led the way forward for our customers.
Well, today (I can’t lie, I’m kind of mourning the Bills loss yesterday), I was reflecting on “better” things, so I asked Open AI’s CHATGPT a question. The answer surprised me and made me smile. AI is pretty smart 😉
I guess it’s safe to say that we’ve been ahead of the crowd from the very beginning 😉
Got invited to attend the inauguration – Thank you, Congressman Kelly 🙂
Got down there Monday morning and it was cold. So cold that they decided to move all the events indoors, so instead of 250,000 guests watching it, only a few hundred got in, and we just watched the inauguration from our hotel room.
We then went to the JP Morgan reception (thanks, Brian Linville) and had a drink and some pretzels. Washington was all secured, so it was tough getting around. Lots of road closures and fencing. We had to do a lot of walking (which I don’t mind), and I wore my Josh Allen jersey (which got a lot of “GO BILLS” from passersby. I love repping the Bills. Fans everywhere).
Notice, I did not wear a coat even though the wind chill was single digits. I lived in Buffalo for 15 years and worked outside in the steel plant and then as a dockworker there for years, so maybe I just got used to it. But unless there is wind, I don’t mind the cold. I honestly told Yuriy that I could easily take off my jacket and jersey and walk around bare chested (I think I have actually done that before hahahahahaha) but Yuriy said that with all the armed security around, they might think I was a nut and take me down. So…the shirt stayed on (this time. I wasn’t kidding. 😉
Not that unusual for announcer and former Bills QB and all-time fan, Ryan Fitzpatrick. It must be the Buffalo in us 🙂
Tuesday, we had several very good meetings with several very interesting people. Our Erie friend, Steve Scully, arranged some of them, and Derek arranged the others. Talked about the new administration and the future, but mostly about Ukraine. We got to meet with some of Senator John Fetterman’s staff and had a very productive talk. LP is kind of a hidden gem here in Erie, and I think the world is finding us more and more. We are making some great inroads with our Ukraine support efforts and making a real name for ourselves. “Punching above our weight.” I think Senator Fetterman (and likely Senator McCormick, our 2 US Senators, will visit Union Station the next time they are in Erie).
Yuriy also got interviewed by Steve on an Sirius XM. Did a great job.
Thanks to Congressman Kelly, Brian Linville, Senator Fetterman, and Steve Scully for making this an enjoyable and memorable trip to what is a historic event.
Back in America. What a cool and amazing trip this was (I say cool, but actually, the temperature in Antarctica was about 20 degrees warmer than it was in Erie. It was around 30 degrees there and, of course, never got dark. A weird phenomenon).
It was awesome to experience a part of the world that most people never get to see. And the landscape really is ferocious and beautiful at the same time. Crazy that there are no land animals whatsoever on this entire continent (bigger than North America). And crazy to think that at one point in Earth’s history, Antarctica was attached to all the rest of the continents in one giant land mass.
When I was a kid growing up in NYC, we would sometimes go to the Museum of Natural History on class trips. I remember the entrance being a very long hallway, and on the wall was a mural of TIME from the Big Bang forward. The formation of stars, planets, and life on Earth. And I remember when you got to the end of the hallway, it said; ‘The last coat of paint on this handrail represents the amount of time humans have been alive’.
This trip made me remember those visits.
It’s funny that Neil deGrasse Tyson, the head of the Hayden Planetarium, was one of the guests onboard our cruise.
Thanks to Daniel and Tristan Fox, and Space2Sea for an unforgettable experience.
-JB
William Shatner, known and beloved by all. At 93 still in command!
Astronaut Jose Hernandez was a great guy with an amazing life story.
Highly recommend reading his book or seeing his movie.
At the very beginning of this cruise, the captain and crew leaders made one thing very clear to all of the passengers: IN ANTARCTICA, THE WEATHER HAS THE FINAL SAY!
They told us to understand that, accept it, and be patient/flexible.
Well, the day we could not get to the Research Station and had to take shelter in one of the bays, we ran into this school of Orcas (and with a flexible adventure cruise like this one, the captain changed course so that we could see them up close).
Amazing sight.
And, as is often the case in life, it’s best to turn disappointment into a different opportunity. As Fridrik, our expedition leader, often said, “We have Plan A. And then Plan B, C, D, E, F as required.” 🙂
