I woke up, as usual, in a darkened parking lot, this time, not far from a MacDonald’s.
At the other end was Planet Fitness, my “shower, shave and workout” location of choice.
Off to Starbucks to recharge the batteries in my Macbook, iPhone and me.
Then to a library to work on paperwork and avail myself of their printer before going off to speak with middle school administrators to talk about Booker T. Clubs.

An enjoyable lunch at the Columbia West Rotary Club provided me with an opportunity to share my mission with a couple of members who kindly pointed me int the directions of “folks I need to meet”.
So off to meet the Pastor at Brookland Baptist Church, a 4,500 member congregation.
He was not in, but with the initial contact made, I’ll follow up later.

Next, to visit with Earl Brown, Jr., the Deputy District Director (and Rotarian) of a US Congressman.
It turned out, he was associated with the Booker T. Washington Foundation of Columbia SC!
These are the remaining members of Columbia’s BTW HS.
Years ago, it was absorbed by the University of South Carolina when it expanded and was ultimately torn down. He informed me its bricks were re-used (BTW would have been proud!) to form a “Horseshoe” and special walkways at USC.
He was especially proud that the BTW HS trained so many in industrial arts, and instilled character in all.

He promised to put me in touch with the Foundation’s leaders so that to further explore their forming a Chapter of the BTW Society.

But my day wasn’t done.

At Applebee’s I joined folks at the bar for some good natured banter and… lo and behold!
A person I had met three days earlier at MacDonald’s walked up and introduced me to his family! He will introduce me to his daughter’s middle school principal today.

Last note: Before I left, Jennifer mentioned I would find several lovely ladies along the way.
Well, she was right! Here’s me with Chico Power’s youngest daughter.

It doesn’t get any better than this!

Best, Ron

So there I was last week, having breakfast in the Morrisville Cafe in North Carolina. I was in town to visit my son, who had gone off to work for the day. I was wearing my brand new BTWS baseball cap.

The owner was behind the counter, apparently studying me while I stared at my plate, trying to decide whether or not I liked grits. After a bit, he reached into his pocket for something and placed a genuine Booker T. Washington half-dollar in front of me!

To know more about BTW Commemorative coins, click here. Thank you Booker T. for creating yet another bond of rapport between the North and South. I’m going to wear my BTWS cap more often.
And I will learn to like grits.

(click to enlarge)