Life on the Road

I know many people think that life on the road is a series of fun adventures and great food but, surprisingly, it rarely measures up to those aspirations. It is mostly a series of hotel rooms, repetitive meals, and lots of windshield time. The best times on the road are usually unexpected and can happen when the day-in day-out drudgery is wearing thin. One of the most dazzling sights I have ever seen on the road took place at the least expected time. It was mid-January and the weather had been tough over the previous two days with a combination of snow, freezing rain, and then a severe cold snap. It was the second day of that cold snap and I was just hitting the road early in the morning. I was driving on a narrow two lane back- country highway as the sun was breaking out of the clouds and sitting low on the horizon. As I crested a hill the trees closed in on both sides of the road and were covered with ice from the previous inclement weather. The sun struck the ice crystals in those trees and the trees looked like they were made of diamonds. It was dazzlingly bright as the light played in millions of directions at once. The reflections created a sunlit tunnel as they shot across the highway and I was immersed in a bath of brilliance that astonished and awed me. It was a glorious beginning to the day and I still carry that vision with me with the expectation and hope that I will see something like that once again. That being said, life on the road can be an adventure and in many cases it can be a treasured experience. Traveling through the Midwest is a chance to see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. The diversity of the terrain and seasonal climate combine to create visions of beauty from the subtle to the extravagant. From a hilly field covered in a snowy quilt for its winter’s nap, to the fiery brilliance of a fall- painted forest, and the ever present multi-hued greens of summer the sights are there to be seen by those who chose to look. The elation of seeing eagles swooping over rivers and lakes, herds of deer grazing on the edge of the woods, wild turkeys feeding in the winter corn fields and the annual migrations of the geese and ducks add to the scenery in an extraordinary way. So when the road is getting long and I am missing my family at home I tend to think about some of the scenes I have been privileged to have viewed and it makes me smile and keep moving. The friendship of the clients I meet also plays a big part in keeping me motivated and focused while I travel. With that in mind here is the current list of conferences and trade shows that gbaSI will be attending or exhibiting at in the near future. I hope to see you at one of these events so if you will be attending any of these shows send me an email ( dpershall@gbasi.com ) or call (309-428-3993) to let me know.