PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES – ISSUE NO. 156

Planes, Trains and Automobiles : In case you have not seen it, in the movie by the same name, John Candy and Steve Martin are trying to get to their homes in Chicago in time for the holidays, but due to a variety of misadventures and misfortunes, have a very difficult time doing so. A number of years ago a friend and I had a skiing trip cut short when my car hit an ice patch and then hit a concrete median. The car was totaled, but the people, fortunately, were alright. 150 miles from home, blizzard conditions made it impossible for anyone to come get us, so through a combination of cars and busses, we got ourselves back home. When we got back to my friend's house, to cap off our adventure, his wife fired up the VCR and played the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles. After last week's travel, I think I will have to do the same. Traveling from Sarasota, Florida, where my wife and I went for a long weekend, I took a combination of an automobile, 2 planes, a bus, a train and 2 subway trains to Alexandria, VA for the AAMI Sterlization Standards meetings. In reverse order, I then took the same combination to get to the MSHCSP (the annual Statewide CS Meeting in Michigan) in Frankenmuth, Michigan. A number of us were there straight from the AAMI meetings and all had itineraries to share recounting our journey. Attending these meetings was important. This just goes to show that when we believe something is important, we will do what we have to in order to attend. Happy to be home with very limited travel - well for a couple of weeks!