Remember... Always be flexible (Feb. 9, 2007)

It was yesterday morning, when I spoke on the telephone with Sanjiv, that I learned our Team – THE DREAM TEAM – had been invited to attend the Southeast Asia Rotary Conference, being held in New Delhi in the coming week. We will get up bright and early that day, work for a few hours, and then return to the motel, shower and dress in business attire, and then drive back from Chahalka to New Delhi, to attend sessions that afternoon. We are most grateful to District Governor Damanjit Singh for the invitation. In addition, we have also been issued an invitation to attend a special reception at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, for an opportunity to meet the president of India, later that same afternoon. What a way to spend Valentine’s Day!!!

All of these invitations are exciting, but only learning of them twenty-four hours before we all leave our homes to fly to Newark, New Jersey to meet at the airport and then fly on to New Delhi, presents a few problems – mostly packing! As I am sure all of us are seasoned travelers, rather than waiting until the last minute, we all MUST have packed our bags several days ago, and this change in plans would necessitate unpacking some things and re-packing dress clothes. In response to the invitation from Sanjiv, I immediately sent out an Email to the members of the Team, notifying them of the change in our itinerary. While still working at my office during the morning, I continued to check my Email to make sure everyone had received my notice. By the end of the morning, I had heard from most members, but decided to call two of them, and it is a good thing I did – since Jay Kapner was already in New York, visiting his father. I had one telephone number to use, and fortunately, it was his cell phone. When I told him about the invitations, he said, “Well Elias, I have a pair of jeans and a pair of khaki pants. Will that be alright?” I indicated that he needed a suit or at the very least a blazer, shirt and tie. He said during this past year, serving as District Governor, he like so many of us who have had that honor, had gained some weight, and he could not fit into clothes from his father. Was I POSITIVE the clothes he had would not be acceptable? I told him what Sanjiv had asked me, when I offered the same question – “What would you wear if you were invited to meet the President of the United States at the White House?” “Ah,” said Jay. “I will see what I can do.” Later in the afternoon, Jay called and told me he had gone shopping and bought a suit, white shirt, tie, belt, and shoes. I congratulated him for being FLEXIBLE.

Since I am carrying with me all of the shirts made especially for the Team, both here and in India, my cases are pretty full. In addition, I am carrying about a dozen First Aid Kits in my bags as well. I found it necessary to send out a plea to the Team members to leave a little space in their bags for some of these items, so that at least by the time we reach New Delhi, my suit will not look like frost-heaved roads in Maine in the winter! Last night, I also went through my bags and removed some extra shirts and a pair of shoes, so hopefully with the adjustments, everyone will have heavy bags, but not so heavy they can’t lift them.

At the suggestion of my doctor, I am wearing a knee brace, to help stabilize my left knee. I am scheduled for knee replacement surgery in May, and so this morning, I strapped it on. After flying from Boston to Newark, I have almost reached the point that I want to take it off and ship it home! I almost think it is more trouble than it is worth. It is not an easy thing to pack away in a suitcase, even with the re-distribution of shirts and First Aid Kits! The jury is still out on this question.

It is now about 10:30 in the morning, and I am sitting at the Newark Airport waiting to meet with District Governor-Elect Joe Laureni, who just returned from San Diego for governors’ training. I am honored to serve as Joe’s mentor, so it will be a pleasure for me to see him once again, and to share with him what we will be doing in India. Joe has chosen District 3010 for a Group Study Exchange during his term as District Governor. That district includes Delhi, and is where I led the GSE team in 2003 from my district. Joe and I will probably have lunch and then I will wait to meet the rest of the members of my Team, as they drift in from all parts of the east coast of the US.

A few minutes ago, I called Sanjiv in India, just to touch base and to find out final plans for our Team. He told me there was another change in plans. This came as no surprise and he proceeded to tell me that we would all attend the Southeast Asia Rotary Conference on Tuesday, the 13th, rather than the 14th! This also follows for the reception with the President of India. We will just have to alter the schedule of days, rather than making any major changes. In planning such a journey, one must be ready to accept change and not to become upset with the changes which may occur.

Almost time to close and go searching for DGE Joe Laureni. More later, although I am not sure when we might get this posted to the BLOG.