New York City? Get a rope!

A major client of the company I'm working nearly full time for (in my retirement) is headquartered in the Big Apple - New York. Over the course of time, nearly everyone in the company has spent time at 55 Broadway, including me.

This past week, it was our Network guy's turn. Now this guy - let's just call him Ricky Bobby - is smart; he's probably the best Network guy we've had. He's the kind of guy that can diagnose problems just by looking at the ends of the wires to see what 0's and 1's fall out, but you really wouldn't know that just by looking at him or talking to him casually. His accent is so West Texas we make fun of him, and if you looked in the dictionary for "good 'ol boy raised on a farm in the Texas Panhandle" you would find Ricky Bobby's picture - snuff can in the hip pocket and all!

The Senior Trip for his high school was a visit to Lubbock. He said Lubbock was okay, "as long as you kept to the outskirts so's you could see the horizon." He lives about an hour out of Austin - in the country, of course, and works odd hours so he doesn't have to drive in rush-hour traffic. And we sent him to New York City!

Wisely, our boss John went with him to keep him from totally freaking out (did I mention that he's the best network guy we've ever had?). And the vast majority of their time has been in the computer room and wiring closet at the client's offices (including a couple of all-nighters). John said nearly every one in the office stops in daily to visit - not because they are interested in the project - they just want to hear Ricky Bobby talk! I overheard a phone conversation today from the next cubicle, and my co-worker here said, "What do you mean, where is he from? He's from Texas! Can't you tell?" For his part, RB says he hasn't understood a word spoken to him since he got off the plane.

John said RB's done pretty good. He opened his eyes the other night on the subway. For a while he wouldn't even get on, which presented somewhat of a problem, since on these trips we always stay in Brooklyn and take the subway into the City.

He did, however, change his flight reservations. He's not coming back with John - he's flying to Amarillo, so he can look at the horizon for a couple of days. He thinks maybe that will stop the twitching.