Welcome to the Eastern Front

After thirty-two years in California, by way of New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and with about three years left before retirement (barring another 9/11 and assuming Larry can continue to work his magic on our portfolio), the perfect storm appears unexpectedly on the horizon. My mother-in-law, whom we had moved from Texas to California many years ago, passes way in her late eighties. The last of the kids goes off to school. My fairly lucrative job, of which I had been bored out of my mind for two years, moves a hundred miles away. And my wife's company, which had vowed for years that it would always maintain its independence, proves to be no different than the rest of the crowd as it sells itself to a Megabank in Charlotte, North Carolina.



Of course, Megabank wants the Brain Trust to move to Charlotte to be closer to mother's bosom, and it is at this point the fly enters the ointment. My wife's company is known for its diversity and for the number of women in High Positions. This, of course, is a complete farce, as the Brain Trust is 100% an old boys' club. Spanky has been club president forever, and he's got an invisible sign on his door - NO GIRLZ ALOUD. BT has to go scrambling to find qualified women to move to Charlotte, and guess who is nominated?



Don't get me wrong. My wife IS one of the most qualified women in the company, and she should have been - DESERVED TO BE - a cigar chomping member of the BTIC (Brain Trust Inner Circle). Had she not decided to work part time for eight years when our youngest was born, she would have been sitting in Spanky's office and he would be growing Alfalfa on his farm in Utah. Still, her nomination is a blatant attempt to backfill the BT with the quality of individuals it is expected to have and should have had from the very beginning.



I couldn't very well expect her to take a Sherman - "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." In fact, the Perfect Storm has already appeared, and the winds are blowing West to East. I agree that this is the Right Time to take advantage of the Big Opportunity. And so, having lived in the Bay Area for thirty-two years, in the same little town for twenty-nine years, and in the same house for twenty-four, we did a Jed Clampett: We packed up the truck and we moved to ..... Charlotte. Swimming pools, movie stars, Megabanks.