Father of the Bride

We celebrated a wedding last August and it was pretty successful in my opinion. We gained a son and we had a great party.

It won't surprise anyone who knows me to hear that I did not buy any wedding magazines before the big event. I did not visit any wedding sites online to prepare, get tips or plan for the date. I did check on a few etiquette items so I wouldn't make a fool of myself.

My role was simply to host to the most important party that I had ever thrown. We invited all our best friends and our family. What could be more fun than hosting a party with your family and friends?

We had people from all corners of the country - many in South Dakota for this first time. The Millards catered a fantastic dinner to our home. We had the perfect evening to showcase South Dakota at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. The picturesque sunset over the Missouri River was complimented by a cool northerly breeze. It was the just kind of night you would order, if you could, for such an event.

But South Dakota summer could not be contained any longer. The hot, dry southeast 25-30 mph winds roared like a blast furnace on the day of the wedding. The 100+ degree temperature, not atypical for late August in Dakota, reminded us that the elements can be extreme on both ends of the spectrum in "God's country" as we like to call South Dakota.

But we celebrated a beautiful wedding ceremony followed but a momentous reception, dinner and dance that put the weather extremes out of everyone's mind. The bride and groom had fun. I believe our guests had fun. (I had a great time!) And that would be my ultimate test of a successful wedding.

But it has been fun to get reviews from others who do this wedding thing a bit more often. Matt and Kendra at Summer Street Photography did a tremendous job with the photos. Kendra, who was 8+ months pregnant at the time of the wedding, was a real warrior, especially in that heat on the wedding day. Despite the fact that we scared Matt a bit with our sailboat shoot, he rallied to get some great shots. Their comments and some of the photos can be found here.

Rachel and Andrew collaborated with Amy at Envision Event Planning to plan (what this father of the bride believes to have been) a truly great wedding. Spending a couple years on the wedding circuit at friends' weddings and having an eye for detail paid off for Rachel and Andrew. Amy's comments and more photos can be found on her blog here.

An online wedding magazine called "Dainty Obsessions" featured Rachel and Andrew's wedding in its Spring '14 issue here. Rachel's remarks highlight the magazine piece. (It was interesting to see the family dog, "Snickers", on the first page of the magazine feature.)

Each of these three spotlights suggest to me that I wasn't the only one who thought that it was an exceptional day and that Rachel and Andrew are a special couple. A great canvas, a photogenic couple, some great planning, wonderful execution (a little cash) and, most importantly, magnificent friends and family as guests will yield a great wedding every time (even if Mother Nature doesn't fully cooperate)!

Explorers Road Trip!

If you're a regular follower of this blog, you know of my affiliation with a young men's service club in Chamberlain. I have posted about the Explorers in the past.

I want to thank to St. Joseph's Indian School houseparent Andrew who authored this post on the St. Joe's blog about the Explorers' trip to Kansas City for a pair of Royals-Rockies games last week.

While he wrote it from the perspective of the seven St. Joe's Explorers (the group with whom he was charged with responsibility), I think he captured the experience for the twenty other members of the group as well. I know the part about being happy to be at the ball park rather than in the classroom was unanimous!!

I was pleased that the twelve eighth graders in the group got to experience the "hat trick" of Explorers trips: they visited Target Field in Minneapolis in sixth grade; they visited Coors Field in Denver in seventh grade; and then Kauffman Stadium this year.

Andrew described the ball park experience well but he didn't mention the food. It is pretty amazing how much ball park fare (read junk food!) 12-14 year-old boys can eat in 24 hours! AMAZING!

Thanks Andrew for a great post on a great group of young men!!

Explorers at Kauffman Stadium

Here is a link to all trip photos including their check presentation to the City of Chamberlain for playground equipment!

Macroeconomics 101 - It Ain't Rocket Science

"How the Economic Machine Works" - created by Ray Dalio who runs Bridgewater, one of the largest hedge funds in the country.

This is a great video on how the economy works. It's simple, quick and very enlightening. Please take 30 minutes and watch and encourage your family, friends and neighbors to watch. We can't fix it if we don't understand it!

Please pass it on!

Harry K Quality Educator Award

I would bet that every person over the age of twenty, if asked about a special teacher, could offer a unique story about how a teacher touched their life in some special way. Perhaps that teacher helped us in the classroom, in the arts, on the field or in our personal life. Some of us have been fortunate enough to have a couple or maybe several experiences like that.

Though it is a bit cliché, the work that these teachers do every day is so important. Often we don’t realize how important until much later.

So that is how the Harry K Quality Educator Award came about. We wanted to recognize, in a unique way, some of these teachers who do such good work both in their classroom and in their community. We wanted to partner with other businesses that have a track record of investing in the community. Harry K’s is very proud and pleased to have joined with Al’s Oasis/Cedar Shore Resort, Pharmco, Statewide Ag Insurance and KWYR/Magic 93 radio.

These businesses are community partners that have invested in and continue to participate in programs that benefit teachers, staff, students and community members. I hope that, if you have a need for any of the products or services they provide, you will give them, each a local business, an opportunity to earn your business.

In November 2012, we began asking people to nominate teachers that they felt were “special” – and we had a great response. We received 49 nominations from 12 different school districts. Thirty-five teachers were nominated (several teachers had multiple nominations). Each of those teachers were asked to submit an application.

Each sponsor picked a judge. None of the sponsors knew who the other judges were. Our judges, independently and anonymously, scored each nominee’s application on Creativity and Originality, Communication Skills, Education Contributions/Accomplishments, Professional Development and Community Involvement.

Based on those scores, we named six finalists in April 2013: Karen Graber of Chamberlain, Greg Sherman of Colome, Rhonda Vaughn-Waterbury of Gregory, Mari Biehl of Platte, Kristine Brockhoft and Cynthia DeMers of Winner.

From those finalists, two Harry K Quality Educator Award winners were selected. In May 2013, we recognized  Kristine Brockhoft and Cynthia DeMers of Winner.

From the May 2013 press release:

Kristine Brockhoft is a teacher at Winner High School. She is a graduate of South Dakota State University and has been in the Winner School system since 1996 specializing in Family and Consumer Sciences. Kristine has received various awards and recognition including most recently National Association of Teacher of Family and Consumer Sciences Distinguished Service Award. Her community involvement includes church, 4H, Girl Scouts and the Winner Food Bank.

“Lack of parental involvement is the major problem facing public schools today,” commented Brockhoft in her application. “The earlier parents get involved in their children’s educational process the more powerful the effects will be. Family participation in education is twice as predictive of student’s academic success as family socioeconomic status. As educators we need to design school programs to encourage parent involvement at school and guide parents in how to specifically help their children at home.”

Cynthia DeMers has been a teacher at Winner High School since 1984. She is a graduate of Northern State University. Cindy teaches Technology and Language Arts and has received various awards and recognition including most recently Winner PTA teacher of the month award. Her community involvement includes church, 4H, Job’s Daughters International and a SD National Guard family readiness volunteer.

“Today’s students spend a great deal of time using social media, “ stated DeMers in her application. “I want to incorporate their experiences in the classroom and make sure they understand issues that may affect them while using social media. The advantages of knowledge at their fingertips, the disadvantages to make sure your resources are reliable and being appropriate in your postings. The world is so small and kids will so easily be involved with counterparts from all over the world through social media. It is imperative they realize that technology is a tool—like a pen or piece of paper, not the solution.“

“On behalf of Pharmco, Statewide Ag, Al’s Oasis and KWYR Radio, I would like to congratulate Kris and Cindy,” said Doug Knust, owner of Harry K Automotive Group. “By all accounts, both are very deserving of this award and we are proud that this award goes to such top quality educators.”

“I would also like to thank all those who nominated an educator for this award and all those who completed an application,” commented Knust. “It is very encouraging to see the high level of teachers we have in our region. We thank all our teachers for the important work they do every day!”

Kristine Brockhoft
2013 HKQEA Winner

Cynthia DeMers
2013 HKQEA Winner

So we repeated the process for the 2014 HKQEA beginning in January 2014. In April we named the five finalists: Karen Graber of Chamberlain, Trisha Burke of Chamberlain, Shawn Wynia of Platte, Mike Murray of Gregory, Billie Jo Indahl of Burke.

We were again blessed with great quality and breadth in the nominations. Our winners were Trisha Burke and Shawn Wynia.

Trisha Burke has been teaching in the Chamberlain School District since 1991. She was influenced to pursue education by her own teachers, in Chamberlain.

Trisha is proud to be a teacher. She gives her students 100% every day and she challenges them to be better by setting high standards then pushing them to meet those standards.

In the words of one of her former students, " Trisha always encourages students to voice their opinions, creatively express themselves, and develop original thinking. Each of her assignments invites students to personally invest themselves and be creative. I have experienced this from very few other instructors."

On a personal note, I have three kids who have been under Trisha's tutelage and each of them regards her as a teacher who challenged them, inspired them  and prepared them for college studies.

Mrs. Burke remarked in her application, "My vision of education is one where the promise of tomorrow is achieved through promoting tolerance and hard work. At the center of this vision, I place Mahatma Gandhi's words: "Be the change you would like to see in the world.""

I think it is fair to say that you are Trisha! Congratulations!

Trisha Burke
2014 HKQEA Winner

Shawn Wynia has been teaching at the Cedar Grove Colony School since 2011. She currently teaches 5th-8th graders all subjects. 

Shawn took an extended route in following in her father's footsteps in education. After starting in a career in accounting, she was drawn into the teaching profession when she took a paraprofessional position and found she loved working with students on a daily basis. 

She managed her family and job while pursuing an online education degree. She completed the course of study for an Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education Bachelor of Arts program in just over 4 years.

"I feel I am an outstanding teacher because I work towards developing each student academically, socially, and emotionally. " Shawn stated  in her application. "In teaching, I am rewarded each day when the students succeed. Seeing students grow into the knowledge and be able to explain what they are doing and why they are doing a certain activity is rewarding. Students with a deep understanding of content will be able to apply the concept all through their life."

As a parent of one of Shawn's students remarked, "Shawn's dedication to the art of education and her pursuit of quality individualized education of the mind and soul to each and every one of her students make her more than worthy of the Harry K Quality Educator Award."

I couldn't agree more! Congratulations Shawn!

Shawn Wynia
2014 HKQEA Winner

These are just four of the many wonderful educators we have in our area. Hopefully, the Harry K Quality Educator Award will focus more attention on the important work these teachers do every day in classrooms around our eight county area!

Explorers in the Sun

"Good leaders must first become good servants."

— Robert Greenleaf

Click on image to enlarge article 

"Explorers versus Dirty Cars"

The Explorers Club is a service club for 6-8th grade boys in Chamberlain (SD) school and St. Joseph's Indian School. The club is not affiliated with either school but receives great support and encouragement from both!

This Saturday is the 13th Annual "Explorers vs. Dirty Cars" car wash. This event is a "wash-a-thon" whereby the Explorers secure pledges for each car washed during the six-hour car wash. So over the past two weeks, the 27 members of the Explorers Club have been pounding the pavement around town (and calling family members!) asking for pledges.

Each member has a goal of at least $1.00 in pledges. Some people prefer to make a donation and the group certainly appreciates that support but it is donations that really drive this event. They hope to have at least $30.00 per vehicle washed pledged by the time the car wash starts on Saturday.

The Explorers have washed as few as 69 vehicles (the first year) and as many as 142 vehicles (large group, nice day) during this event. They have washed 1,070 over the first twelve car washes (it seems like we've washed so many more than that!). But regardless of how many cars are washed, it will be a wild six hours at Harry K Chevrolet-Buick on Saturday.

The project is a very good one for these guys in many ways. The money that they raise ($4,000-6,000) will go to the City of Chamberlain to help pay for new playground equipment at the American Creek Day Use area - a park used by many people in our community and many visitors. The equipment will enhance the park in a great way.

In addition to a great cause, they also learn about planning, execution, salesmanship, leadership, teamwork and hard work. Some learn about these more directly than others.

We rely on the 8th graders for leadership. Since, for most of them, it is their third car wash, they know what needs to be done and how to do it. At this point in their 8th grade year, they are mature, young leaders and the task suits them well.

I like to say that adolescent boys will do some mighty miserable tasks - as long as they can do it with their friends. I will bring my DJ equipment and play some tunes and I can bark out orders over the PA system. We try to make it as fun as possible. But standing on the concrete washing cars for six hours is work at any age!

The boys work in shifts. The 8th graders will work all day. The 7th graders will work just half a day and the 6th graders will each works two hours. The 8th graders get lunch since they are there for the day.

One of the great challenges of the car wash is that they don't rush the job and that they keep the "quality control" up to an acceptable level. Since they all know that they make more money when they wash more vehicles, they start to hurry when the vehicles start to line up outside.

Sometimes we have to run a car back through the process and wash it again. Sometimes a car makes it out of the wash with a poor wash job. A poor wash job is like a temporary tattoo - everyone notices it. Nobody notices a dirty car since most exist in that state. But a car that has swirl marks or has dirt remaining on one body panel is noticed by all.

We talk about proper wash technique in our final Explorers meeting before the car wash but, when the cars pile up outside, they get in a hurry and deliver a few "tattoos".

Parents and teachers have been so generous and supportive through the years. Most have their whole fleet washed and vacuumed during the car wash. One year, the guys cleaned 95 cars despite the fact that it rained outside the entire time they were washing cars. Most of those vehicles belonged to parents and teachers.

The Chamberlain-Oacoma community has been very supportive through the years too. Most people recognize that this is the Explorers' big fundraising event of the year and that the money flows back to the community. I think people like to see adolescent boys working hard together on a project that serves someone else.

The list of projects that the Explorers have supported with their car wash includes: the original construction of the fields at Explorers Field; scoreboard at those fields;  trees and a picnic shelter and playground equipment at Explorers Field; the soccer field, the fishing pier at American Creek Park; new swimming pool slides; lights at Explorers Field;  fence around soccer field, new poles at the Avenue of Flags Park; and last year's donation to the community's Veteran's Park.

That is a pretty impressive list by any measurement. The Explorers have created a great tradition and legacy over the past 13 years and the "Explorers vs. Dirty Cars" car wash is just one part of it.

So if you car is dirty (or even if it isn't), bring it to Harry K Chevrolet-Buick on Saturday between 9:00 am - 3:00 pm for a wash and vacuum. It won't cost you anything and it will help raise about $30 for the playground equipment!!

April 2014 SDADA Column

“It’s so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog” - Southern colloquial expression

I recently returned from an NADA Finance Committee meeting in New York. While there, I was able to attend the NADA/JD Power Automotive Forum. This was the fifth annual one-day event, originally organized by NADA, bringing together leaders from OEMs, suppliers, retailers, and the media to discuss how industry and economic conditions will shape the future. Dealers have participated in forum panels in years past, but never has the NADA Chairman addressed the group.

This year, NADA Chairman Forrest McConnell kicked off the NADA/JD Power Automotive Forum with a great speech about the consumer benefits of the current franchise dealer network for sales, service and handling vehicle recalls. But he used his southern wit and charm (and colloquialisms) to bring his message to a level all could appreciate.

Just a sample of McConnell's magic: "If you tip a waiter 10% you're cheap. If you tip 3% they're on you like a rat on a Cheeto. The franchise system is a model that drives competition up and prices down. It is singlehandedly the best model for selling vehicles anywhere. The auto industry needs the franchise system."

Forrest is a great ambassador for the nation's dealers. But I'm thinking that the Yankees in the room had a visual on the big fat rat (with sunglasses) eating a Cheeto that mighta caused them to miss the rest of his point!! Gotta love those southern colloquialisms.

These links will give you more information on McConnell's speech. You can see his CNBC interview here.

Consumer Finance Protection Bureau Seeks to Shape the Message

I don't know if you saw this article in American Banker but it really lays out how the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau works (dubiously) to shape the media's message to the public by bringing in hired guns and imposing midnight media embargoes to prevent opponents from  commenting in the same news cycle. This would seem to be all fair in a competitive business world but not in the context of a government shaping its message to the public.

I agree with the comment at the end of the article: " Objectivity and transparency continue to be challenges for the CFPB. But rather than cure these deficiencies, the Bureau appears to be increasing its biases and opacity."

Economic expansion and a supportive credit environment will keep used prices stable

Average wholesale prices of used cars and light trucks up to eight-years-old will decrease by a range of 0.5% to 1% in 2014, according to the NADA Used Car Guide in its latest report, 2014 Used Vehicle Price Forecast (which you can download here). This modest drop will keep levels on par with 2012 and 14% higher than 2010. “Economic growth is expected to accelerate to its fastest pace since 2005, keeping demand for new and used autos high,” said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for NADA Used Car Guide. “A strong economy, combined with other positive factors, leads to a more positive outlook for used vehicle prices in 2014.”

Books on Bots

It was only a coincidence that Christopher Steiner's Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World and Michael's Lewis' Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt ended up in consecutive order in my reading que. Steiner's book was my way of treading water while I awaited Lewis' latest. But I could not have picked a better prelude for Flash Boys.

I have been a big fan of Lewis since reading Moneyball almost ten years ago. When I saw that he was releasing a new book, I pre-ordered and waited. In the meantime, I came across Steiner's interesting book about a brave new world where humans use computers to make complex decisions.

In it, Steiner aptly tells readers what, when, why, and how bots will come to make our lives different - sometimes better and sometimes not so much. Computers and the people who write the algorithms are helping humanity and at the same time gaining a huge edge over people who don't understand and use computers and have the capital to take advantage of their capabilities.

I found the narrative to be excellent even if slightly terrifying. He offers multiple illustrations of the double edged nature of automation. Trading algorithms allow investment houses to cash in on market imperfections. A robot pharmacist fills prescriptions flawlessly. A computer program composes new scores in the styles of 18th century masters. Those of us who earn a living through the application of specialized knowledge are under siege. Algorithms that fabricate our refined decision trees enable computers to do a day's work in the blink of an eye.

In Flash Boys, Michael Lewis again takes a complex scenario and zeroes in on the characters who made it interesting. This is his compelling, chilling account of how the equities markets have been systematically undermined in the past decade. 

Lewis does a great job of highlighting not just the technical arms-race, laid out quite well in Steiner's book, but the repercussions of it. Flash Boys reveals the true state of the public markets today.

He illustrates how high frequency traders add nothing to the operation of the capital markets but turn their intermediary role into huge profits. The big banks have their operations, including "dark pools," as well as the independent traders and none of them provide authentic records of transactions.

Flash Boys is an interesting story, but the most interesting part of the story is yet to be written. Three days after the publication of Lewis’ book, Attorney General Holder announced that the Department of Justice has an on-going investigation into high-frequency trading on stock exchanges. High-frequency traders may not be illegal in the strict sense, undoubtedly it has a detrimental and costly effect on the markets. 

It seems that the SEC is incapable of dealing with the advances in technology that this book explores. However, they weren't too capable of dealing with the rather unsophisticated ways of Bernie Madoff either. Bottom line: It is best to be looking out for yourself - no one else will be!

March 2014 SDADA Column

I really don't like to write about the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau each month but they seem to make themselves such an easy target. Every week brings another story that is just so outrageous that it bears mention. Plus they have placed our finance model under direct attack without regard for the adverse affects to the consumer. 

As you probably know, The Emperor's Clothes is a childhood story by Hans Christen Anderson. In this column, Randy Henrick,  associate general counsel and lead regulatory and compliance Counsel for DealerTrack, Inc., draws a very striking analogy between the CFPB and the Emperor:

The CFPB reminds me of the Emperor. They must know that the legal arguments they hope to validate in the Ally Bank Consent Order will not hold up in a court. My fear is that other lenders will be like the Emperor’s ministers and go along for fear that they will be the next entity upon which the CFPB will try to impose similar conditions and thus they go along as well.

If you want a very good analysis of why Ally Financial's recent settlement with the government over auto dealer markups on indirect auto loans is dangerous, read Richard Riese's column in American Banker.  Riese is senior vice president of the Center for Regulatory Compliance at the American Bankers Association.  Riese argues that the settlement was based on based on leverage, not law.  

He makes a very strong argument against the CFPB that can be summed up in the final paragraph of his column:

The government has overwhelming power and resources to pursue enforcement.  Leveraging a settlement on threat of litigation with less evidence than is required to prove intentional discrimination is an abuse of power. Compensating presumptively-minority borrowers who pay the same markup as individual non-minority borrowers undermines equal credit opportunity policy.

Ironically, at the same time the CFPB is accusing others of disparate impact, CFPB's own managers have shown distinctly different patterns in how they rate employees of different races. This report in American Banker details the findings that show a pattern of ranking white employees distinctly better than minorities in performance reviews used to grant raises and issue bonuses.

Ronald J. Rubin, a partner at Hunton &Williams LLP, comments on this issue in the Wall Street Journal. 

The lesson the CFPB should learn from its own disparate-impact experience: Statistics are complicated. Numbers don't lie, but people often misinterpret them. Effect does not necessarily equal cause.

It is inconceivable that CFPB's management could be discriminating against its workers. But disparate-impact statistics equal discrimination. As they say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander!

It is likely that CFPB will continue to ignore all public accusations, Congressional inquiries and media investigations because that is what they do. 

NADA’s Service Provider Data Access Addendum Now Available for Download

Last month, NADA’s Legal and Regulatory Affairs department issued a sample Service Provider Dealer Data Access Addendum (“Addendum”) and cover memo for dealers to use with their third party service provider vendors. This follows a memo sent last August from NADA to all members that contained an overview of the primary regulatory issues surrounding dealer data, numerous practical tips for dealers to consider when protecting their data, as well as samples of the contract provisions required under federal law when a dealer wishes to allow access to dealer data with a third party service provider. The Addendum is now available to dealers as a Word document at www.nada.org/dealerdata.

March Madness and My Road to the Final Four

As you may know, I am a regular attendee of college basketball's pinnacle, the Final Four. This year, my road to the Final Four at AT&T Stadium in Dallas may be a long and winding one.
I am a Creighton University alumnus and Bluejay basketball fan. I also represent South Dakota's new automobile dealers on our national association board of directors. These three interests converge over the next month to create a crazy, hectic road for me from Chamberlain, SD to Dallas, TX.
I have decided to blog daily about my road trip. It starts with a day at National Automobile Dealers Association committee meeting in Washington, DC. My family will then join me for the 4-day Big East Mens Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.
From there I will trek across the county to Redondo Beach, CA for three days for a National Automobile Dealers Association Retirement Trust meeting. Following the NADART meeting, I plan to hit first and second round games wherever the Creighton Bluejays play. That will be 3+ days in one of eight cities - Buffalo, Orlando, Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Antonio, Spokane, Raleigh or San Diego. I won't know until Selection Sunday which is March 19. I currently have rooms booked in each of these cities.

So I will pack my bag for two weeks. It will be full of suits, dress shirts, ties and Creighton Bluejays apparel. Unfortunately, that is just a bit too long for me to travel by carry-on. I'll probably have to pack a little laundry soap as well!
I hope to update this blog at least daily and perhaps more often if events warrant it! So check back for updates.

GO JAYS!!!

Update: 10:30 AM EDT, 3/16/2014

So the trip to Washington, D.C. went fine and my meeting ended a bit early. I went to Union Station to see if I could get on a train for NYC earlier than the 5:00 PM train on which I was booked. I had read that Amtrak will allow you to move your time up and that's what happened to me.

I got on the 2:00 PM Acela Express and arrived at Penn Station in NYC shortly after 5:00 PM. After a rain soaked walk from Penn Station to my motel (about 4 blocks), I checked in, unpacked and checked on the arrival times of the rest of the family.

The South Dakota delegation was experiencing some delays but the DC group was set for an on time arrival. I call an old classmate that I knew was coming in for the games and we met up at on of the Bluejay bars.

Eventually we made our way to the Garden to watch the end of Seton Hall's victory over Butler and then saw DePaul upset Georgetown. After the games, we met up with daughter Rachel and son-in-law Andrew for a cocktail before calling it an evening.

The South Dakota delegation did not make it in on Wednesday evening and were scheduled to arrive late Thursday morning after another Delta disaster.

Thursday brought the late morning arrival of wife Judy, son Alex and daughter Sarah. After lunch at Greek Corner near our hotel, we decided to go the second afternoon game. We watch Seton Hall's upset of tournament top seed Villanova while at lunch. Providence out-battled St. John's in the second afternoon clash.

We grabbed some dinner between games and headed in to watch the Blujays' game with DePaul. The Jays took care of business and Xavier beat Marquette to set up a third Creighton/Xavier class of the year.

We did not get out of the basketball games until after midnight. Judy and Sarah we tired. Alex was ready to rally with a bunch of friends. We turned in for the evening while the night was just getting started for the rest of them.

On Friday, we played tourist. We walked up 7th Avenue to Times Square and then over to Rockefeller Center before making our way over to Brooklyn for our late afternoon dinner reservation at Peter Luger's steakhouse, which is one of my all-time favorite places.

Our group of 15 had a great meal and a wonderful time and unique dining experience. The steakhouse lived up to my very strong billing!!

It was off to the Creighton/Xavier game from there. The Jays had another strong performance and took care of the Musketeers before Providence ended the Seton Hall season. Again, Judy, Sarah and I were tired and the rest had to rally!

On Saturday morning we went to the 911 Memorial and Battery Park before making our way to Broadway to see an afternoon performance of The Book of Mormon. We all enjoyed the musical very much.

We hustled back to the Creighton team hotel (eventually taking 2 pedi-cabs) from the show to go to the Birds of Pray Creighton mass.

After mass, it was a quick dash through the pizza parlor on our way to the Garden for the championship game. Providence was in a "must win" situation to get into the NCAA tournament and they played like it. They executed a very shrewd game plan, slowed the game down and hit crucial shots.

Meanwhile, the Bluejays had tired legs and could not hit the crucial shots. The result was a disappointing 65-58 loss for the Jays.

The Creighton fans had nothing to hang their heads about though as their team played hard and in front of a staggering number of Bluejay faithful. Every other team in attendance was surprised and the number of fans who had made their way from Omaha and other points around the Midwest to follow their beloved Jays. It made it a lot of fun for all Bluejay fans.

We headed back to the motel to pack, knowing that the 6:00 AM wake up call would come too early. It did but we made it to Laguardia in plenty of time for Delta to delay our flights - mine to Minneapolis then Los Angeles and Judy, Alex and Sarah's to Minneapolis then Sioux Falls.

We all had a great time despite the championship game loss. It was great to spend time together as a family. It was fun to renew friendships with CU buddies for all of us. Especially enjoyed seeing my classmate Bryan Beam and his sister. Also had the son of another great Creighton friend join us for the weekend.

I am hoping to catch my connection to LA as I write this having sat at the LaGuardia gate for 45 minutes while mechanics were fixing the intercom.

Update 7:00 PM CDT, 3/25/2014

So I made my connection to Los Angeles in Minneapolis. I arrived in Los Angeles about 1:30 pm local time.

That gave me enough time to watch some basketball and time for a workout and before our dinner that evening.

We ate at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Before dinner, we enjoyed quite a show. God was entertaining with a beautiful sunset, whales and dolphins. It was magnificent.

After a very nice dinner, we made our way back to our motel, The Portofino, in Redondo Beach. I was exhausted and ready to call it a night.

I had a golf game at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles the next morning. Trump National was a spectacular course in a breathtaking setting but it probably wasn't the place to play your first golf game of the season. Every teebox had a view of the ocean (and very little view of the fairway!).

We played on a perfect day, 72 degrees and a breeze blowing off the ocean. The huge American flag can be seen from every point on the golf course. I like that. The golf course is a true gem. It is everything you would expect in a championship course overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It did kick my ass!!!

That evening brought another nice dinner and an early bedtime - which was greatly appreciated as I was still somewhere between Eastern and Central Daylight time!

Wednesday was an all-day meeting followed by dinner at Jay Leno's The Comedy and Magic Club. It's a comedy club, so the tables are small and the food is mediocre. That seems to always be the case at these places. But the entertainment was great. I laughed for two hours straight.

The next day was a meeting until noon and then more golf. This time is was historic Palos Verdes Golf Club. Built in 1924, this course had beautiful ocean and mountain vistas throughout our round of golf. It was a much more forgiving course as well and I appreciated that so early in the golf season.

My golf partners for the two days were great. I enjoy golfing with someone who loves the game but does not take themselves too seriously. Jim, Jason and Jim were just that - great partners who loved golf and played quite well.

After an informal dinner with some NADART friends who were still in town, I moved to the Hampton Inn near the airport since I had a 6:00 am flight the next morning.

My flight to San Antonio was early but went well. I made my connection in Salt Lake City and arrived in San Antonio about 1:30 CDT. I rode to our downtown hotel with cabbie Martin who turned out to be our escort for the weekend.

I knew that rides to and from the AT&T Arena were going to be a challenge so I talked to Martin about taking care of us. He did just that for our entire stay in San Antonio including a ride to the airport for Alex and then me on Monday after the basketball games.

Since Rachel and Andrew and Alex did not arrive until later that evening, I had the day to myself. After doing some laundry (a must on a two-week trip), I headed for the Riverwalk. I found a sports bar and planted myself at the bar for the evening.

While patrons would come and go, I could strike up a conversation with anyone about college basketball as I sat there watching three televisions. The cocktails were good, the food was adequate and the view of the basketball games was tremendous. I was happy!

Both of the flights made it in on time and we all met up at the Doubletree Hotel bar where we were staying. Everyone was tired but ready for some Bluejay basketball.

We got going late the next morning and took off for the arena at about 10:30 am. Nebraska and Baylor tipped at 11:45 and we wanted to watch it all.

Baylor beat Nebraska in a very ugly basketball game. Creighton took care of business against Louisiana-Lafayette to set up a matchup on Sunday against Baylor which scared me right after seeing Baylor play. They were long and athletic, just the combo to cause a matchup problem for the Bluejays.

After a break at the only sports bar for miles between sessions, Alex and made our way back for the Providence/North Carolina game. That was a great game as UNC pulled it out at the end. Iowa State took care of business against North Carolina Central setting up a UNC/ISU matchup on Sunday.

We met up with Rachel and Andrew, who went out to dinner with some friends who drove down from Austin, for a nitecap at the hotel bar. We caught the last two games of the evening on TV.

Saturday was a fun day in San Antonio. We started at the Alamo, followed by lunch at a other sports bar on the Riverwalk with some Creighton friends. Next we went to the smoke shop to get some cigars (which we never smoked) and then to Pat O'Brien's piano bar for music and mint juleps.

Then it was back to the Riverwalk to the Creighton bar for a pep rally followed by a walk to Mi Tierra, a rather famous San Antonio Mexican restaurant. By then, we had all had enough to eat and drink and we turned in for the evening.

Sunday was game day - Bluejays and Baylor. We had lunch and watch games at a great bar called The Esquire. Excellent traditional cocktails and original cocktails were their specialty. The cocktail perfectionist would appreciate the big square ice cubes that started every drink. I enjoyed watching the mixologists who only mixed cocktails - they were not distracted by taking orders from the patrons. Other servers handled that task. I highly recommend The Esquire if you get to San Antonio.

From ther, we made our wat to the AT&T Arena - the site of the masacre. Unfortunately, the Baylor Bears mauled the Bluejays. It was a tough matchup for Creighton but they did not have their "A" game that night and the final 30-point margin reflected that.

I will save my reflections of the Bluejays magical season for another post but you can find Coach McDermott's post-game talk to the team here and a good analysis of how most Bluejays fans felt after the game here.

We had a post-game meal at Mi Tierra and then back to the motel. Alex had an early 6:00 AM flight and Rachel and Andrew had a 9:00 AM flight. I did not fly out until 2:40 PM and went home by way of Atlanta. I arrived back to Sioux Falls at 9:20 PM completing my 13-day junket.

Delta had totally destroyed my bag on the NYC-LAX leg of the trip but I felt more wiped out than my bag looked. It was great to sleep in my own bed!