I flew back from Minneapolis last Friday night after a three-hour delay where the reasons varied from "weather" to "air traffic in Newark." At one point I wanted to go over to the gate agent and say, "Pick a story and stick to it and we just might believe you!" It was an evening where I once again gave silent thanks for my laptop's Verizon air card as I sat on the floor of the airport sending emails and IMing with the office. By the time I got home and unpacked, I was more than wide awake having passed the "tired" needle hours ago. I now was on what mothers with small children refer to as "my second wind." Thus it was time to pluck a book from the stash that I had picked up at the conference and relax by reading.

Monday I flew to Minneapolis for the Public Library Association National Conference. I had been to Minneapolis many years ago when I worked at Mademoiselle magazine when I did a series of fashion shows/makeover events at some Dayton Hudson stores. That trip was a blur with something like six makeover events in six cities in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin in six days. I should have known that this was just training for my whirlwind life today.