Stephen Mejias

I'm pretty happy with the way yesterday's entry came out, but it didn't go the way I meant it to.

Jon Iverson and I were standing in the parking lot of the Amerisuites Hotel, loading the trunk of his rental car, and saying goodbye.

"Do you need any food?" he asked, offering me a bag of pretzels and some delicious chocolate truffles. "These are good for you when you're sick."

"Thanks Jon." I was happy to take them. They did make me feel better.

I can't remember Jon's exact words after that, but they were something like, "You must be tired of all of us mothering you."

No, those weren't his words, but I think I captured something close to the essence.

"No, I don't mind at all," I said.
"No?"
"No. For a long time, I lived far from my mom, and I really missed her. Now, I feel so lucky to have her close to me again. And I've always been happy to have people care for me. I love care. I love love."
"You see?" Jon said. "You are a hippie."

I laughed.

And, so, the point I really meant to make with that "Mothers and Mentors" entry is that I feel so, so lucky. So lucky to be able to work with such wonderful, caring people. So lucky to have formed excellent professional relationships, while building strong personal relationships.

When I was sick, everyone came around with their candies and hugs, vitamins and teas, soft words and strict demands.

Demands to get more rest, that is. "Take care of Stephen first," Jon kept reminding me.

And, when I was feeling down about my contributions to the team, or overwhelmed by all the noise and chaos of the Convention Center, everyone came around with their advice, encouragement, and understanding.

"Thank you for always watching my back, Wes."
"And thank you for watching mine, Stephen."

I can tell from Jim Tavegia's comment that he knew where I was going with yesterday's entry. He wrote:

You have great tutors. Every choice you made [at CES] did CHANGE YOUR LIFE and took you down a different life path. This is not insignificant.

John Atkinson just posted the final CES reports. There are a total of 116 entries over our ten days of coverage.

We did an excellent job, and had a great time doing it.
This is not insignificant.

I told a few of the other guys that, while I was there, I may have been cranky and frustrated, but, now that I'm back, all I have are good memories. Beyond that, I can't wait for the next show. We'll only do better and more.
This is not insignificant.