Washington DC Galaxy, May '08

The Washington DC Galaxy was wonderful; great people, luxurious setting, exciting assignments and tons of new things to do. Plus, I got a special surprise I never saw coming.

Where do I start? The Sofitel Lafayette Square Hotel was "two clicks" better than perfect. The rooms, the service, so close to everything - it was a great meeting place.

Our Galaxy book, Beyond Booking Yourself Solid by Michael Port, was extraordinary. Everyone had extracted large useful pieces to share and use when they returned home. Thank you, Lee. It was an excellent choice.

There were so many other great individual contributions, sharing sessions and masterminds sessions (all the things Galaxy facilitates so well) that it's hard to enumerate them all.

On Friday night we are all invited to eat together - in one or several groups. On this Friday, after a dozen of us shared a delicious meal, Dr. Mark Thompson's lovely bride Tonya, had planned a limo tour of the Capital's monuments and memorials. I had planned to decline the offer, but was encourage to tag along, so I climbed into one of the biggest limo I'd ever seen and off we went. I can't tell you how glad I am that I did.

First stop, the relatively new National WWII Memorial. As I walked past the monoliths and bronze wreaths commemorating the war dead from each state and territory I was overcome with gratitude for the sacrifice of my father's generation.

I opened my cell phone and called my 86 year old, WWII Veteran father - Stan Lloyd. When he answered, the lump in my throat made it hard to speak. Over several seconds I was able to tell him where I was and thanked him once more for his service to our country. I told him I was proud of him and that I loved him. 

That was the first of several moving stops that night: the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the statue of the Marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribatchi on Iwo Jima. 

I said it several times that night and I'll tell you too. I love my country and I'm grateful to all the men and women who have given so much so we can live in the best place on earth.