33. 11-11-11

It all started in Moorhead, MN on a cold January night in 1974 during my sophomore year at Concordia College. I was a member of the varsity basketball team and on this particular night I was sitting next to one of my teammates as I watched the Concordia freshman basketball team play prior to the varsity game. (yes, they did that in those days).

It was during the first half of the freshman game that it happened.....the ball was knocked out of bounds by a Concordia player and the game clock of course stopped....at this moment my teammate came out of his seat and pointed with glee at the time showing on the game clock ......the time on the clock was 11:11.  My teammate then pointed out to me that 11:11 was a very unique and special time on a digital clock because it's the only time that all four digits are the same number. He also went to say how much he loved the symmetry of seeing all four 1's showing at the same time....it was pure perfection in his eyes....it was at this moment that I too became hooked on the time of 11:11.

There it was....my first 11:11

I proceeded to spread the gospel of 11:11 to all of my friends. Some totally bought into it, others just laughed about my fascination with this particular time and they never really grasped the concept. In any event, my small group of 11:11 disciples have continued to look for and enjoy the time of 11:11 throughout our lives. If a game clock at a sporting event stops at 11:11 it is considered a religious moment. In addition to the game clock phenomenon it's considered to be good luck if you see the time of 11:11 on any digital clock during the course of the day. (you would be amazed at how many times you look at a clock and the time is actually 11:11....it's a little scary)




See what I mean?....it looks so perfect

Ahhh.... the magical time...the beautiful symmetry

Every year in November on the date of 11-11 my group of 11-11 disciples meet on a conference phone call at 11:11 am so we can properly celebrate this very special day and the time together. During these yearly calls my fellow 11:11 geeks always talked about how special the year 2011 would be for our group. This of course was because in the month of November 2011 we would have a day that a person will only experience once in a lifetime....yes, I'm talking about the magical date of 11-11-11.....OH MY!!!



How can you not love this time?


Well as you all know November 2011 finally arrived this year. In order to properly celebrate this very historic day, I went into downtown Minneapolis on a mission to find a place that had an address of 1111. The plan was that on this very special day of 11-11-11 my group would gather at 11:11 am outside a building that clearly displayed an address of 1111. The following pictures tell the story of my search......



OH MY!.....according to my calculations this building might be "it"



Oh please have the magic address showing....please, oh please, oh please.

Hmmmm...this building is actually a bar called the "Bullfrog Cajun Bar"

YES!!!....I struck gold......The Bullfrog is "it".....1111 Hennepin Ave

The plan was now in place....my group would meet outside the Bullfrog Cajun Bar located at 1111 Hennepin Avenue at 11:11 am on 11-11-11 and the celebration would begin.

Highlights of the Celebration
-Champagne toast under the 1111 address sign at the Bullfrog bar
-Official kick-off to the day with a beer at the Bullfrog
-Lunch at Brit's Pub
-Toured the law office where one of my 11:11 group works (IDS building)
-Bar hopping downtown
-Attended a Gopher basketball game
-Celebrated 11:11 pm at the Loon Cafe

The following pictures in my photo gallery pretty much tell the story. I will only show pictures of myself......the identity of the other 5 people in my group will not be listed due to privacy laws....my friends don't want to be publicly identified as 11:11 geeks...(they still have important jobs that they need to keep....lawyer, teacher, real estate agent, financial consultant, etc)

PHOTO GALLERY

The digital clock on my iphone at the magical moment....truly a thing of beauty



Just another look at 11:11 am on 11-11-11



The clock just struck 11:11 am....let the celebration begin

The official kick-off to the 11-11-11 celebration at the Bullfrog bar



And before you knew it......it was time to celebrate again...where did the time go?

The celebration is on again.....the clock just struck 11:11 pm at the Loon

It was a fantastic day and evening....a once in a lifetime experience......and we did it up right!!




32. Sleepless in Seattle

In an effort to properly kick off my retirement I decided to take a trip out to Seattle, WA at the end of October. The main reason for taking this trip was to get away from all of the people who continually ask me the following questions regarding my retirement:

1. What are you going to do?
2. What did you do today?
3. What are you going to do tomorrow?
4. Aren't you going to get bored? I think you should (fill in the blank).

All of these questions were wearing me out and I just needed a break from having to continually provide answers to these questions. I also figured that this trip would give me a good answer to those annoying questions about my retirement....so it was off to Seattle for me....

So why Seattle????...Gus Bradley, a good friend of mine from my hometown of Zumbrota, MN, lived there and I wanted to pay him a visit. Gus was one of 4 Bradley boys who were all star quarterbacks for the Zumbrota high school football team back in the 70's and 80's. I played football at Zumbrota with 2 of Gus's older brothers so I got to know Gus very well through them. All 4 of the Bradley boys also went on to have very successful careers playing college football.

My boy....Gus Bradley

Gus is the only one of the Bradley boys who went into football coaching after he was done playing in college. Gus started his coaching career at North Dakota State Univeristy in Fargo, ND. His big break came many years later when he was hired as a line backer coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL team). After paying his dues in Tampa for 3 years, Gus moved up the NFL ranks when he was named the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks. Gus had always given me an open invitation to come and visit him in Seattle. This invitation also included a complete behind the scenes look at life in the NFL....all I had to do was show up in Seattle.....how could I pass that up?.....(as if I had anything better to do now).

KEY POINTS
This trip was going allow me to be the following:
 1. A tourist boy (never had been to Seattle before)
 2. A kid in a candy store (seeing what life was like as coach in the NFL)
 3. Completely anonymous....no one could bother me with questions about being retired


Highlights of the trip....
 1.  Stayed in a hotel located in downtown Seattle..close to everything
 2.  Toured Seattle on foot from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Thursday
 3.  Visited a every major tourist attraction during my long walk
 4.  Toured Safeco Field - home of the Mariners MLB baseball team
 5.  Toured CenturyLink Field - home of the Seahawks NFL football team
 6.  Toured the harbor via boat
 7.  Spent Friday with Gus...practice, tour, dinner, stories
 8.  Saw what goes on behind the scenes of an NFL team
 9.  Found a great bar near the hotel that became my nightly hang out
10. Met some fun people at "my bar"...they kept me entertained
11. Attended the Seahawks game against the Cincinnati Bengals
12. Stood on the sidelines for the the pre-game warm-ups
13. Sat in great seats for the game...Row 8...40 yard line

I think the best way to tell the story of my trip is for me to act as your tour guide.

The tour is about to start.....please gather around me....

Welcome to Seattle, I'm Palmer and I will be your tour guide today. You are now part of what I will call the "Palmer Group". When you hear me say "Palmer Group, we are walking", it means that you need to follow me.

Remember.....I'm in charge here!

.

If you hate heights, you need to stay in the gift shop





I can't believe there aren't some good looking women around to be in this picture



Sun in Seattle??.....I thought Seattle was always dark and dreary

Pictures without people in them do nothing for me



This is Pike's Market........where are the women?....I need them in this picture



Looks like we can buy dinner right here....anyone know how to clean a fish?

I'd buy these flowers if I could just find a good looking woman to give them to

Welcome to Safeco Field....home of the Seattle Mariners....

Remember this is a "Ballpark".... not a "Stadium"

Excuse me....I need to live out a dream.... gotta stand on the top step of the dugout

Let's go down into the post game interview room and I will do some role playing for you....or should I say that I will live out a fantasy of mine.....

It was a fast ball middle in and I just put a good swing on it

Yes, I would have to say it was the biggest home run of my career

We will now head out to the suburbs and tour the facility that the Seahawks use for their practice sessions....

Palmer Group......we're walking......please try and keep up with me

This is practice field....a fella could build a very nice lake home right here

The locker room is bigger than my house.....but then I don't have much of a house

This room looks like a college class room..a place most players have never seen

Hey Vikings fans, there is Sidney Rice....he left us...I feel like a scorned lover

We will now head back downtown and go tour CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks....

Now this is a "Stadium".....not a "Ballpark"



The calm before the storm.....the fans are loudest in the NFL...called the 12th man




It's Sunday.....are you ready for some football?



We must be in the front row.....well not really...will Row 8 work for you?



There's Gus....it's a long ways from Zumbrota to the NFL..maybe he will hire me



Maybe if I just stand around here they will think I'm a coach

My buddy Palmer is here today so you better not embarrass me

You gotta love the dance line....yes, they really call them the "Sea Gals"

Let's go down to the post game interview room.....little more role playing for you...


I can't answer that question until I look at the film


This concludes our tour...............



Any questions?.... yes it's true, I can't sleep in Seattle....too much to do



Now I have an answer to all the questions.....I WENT TO SEATTLE!!!

31. Last Day...First Day

THE LAST DAY...........THE FIRST DAY

My 30 year career at Norstan/Black Box came to a close on September 23, 2011 when I officially "retired" from the world of corporate America.. Even though the official announcement given by Black Box used the word "retirement"  I would rather say that I am merely leaving the stressful life of a sales behind me so I can look for new things to do that are much more enjoyable.

This move out of the Black Box world is something that I always planned to do at some point between the ages of 55 and 60. After assessing my current situation I decided that it was time to make my final walk out the Black Box door at the ripe old age of 57. Let the official records show that this ceramonial walk took place on Friday, September 23rd at 5:57 pm CST.

I may be retrirng but I won't need this....

The announcement of my retirement was a big surprise to mamy people and I was therefore inundated with questions about my decision. The quick answers to the 3 most commonly asked questions are as follows:

Q - Why are you retiring? A - Because I can

Q - How can you retire? A - I'm 57, had a very successful 25 year sales career, no wife, no ex-wife, no kids, no boats, no lake home, no toys, no debt...do I need to continue?

Q- What are you going to do? A - Whatever I want

A good way to try and understand how I felt about leaving Norstan/Black Box after 30 years would be to watch the movie Shawshank Redemption. As I approached my last day I felt a lot like the character named Brooks in this movie. I was excited about finally being set free from the corporate world but yet I was a little apprehensive about what life is really like "on the outside". As Shawshank was for Brooks, Norstan/Black was for me....it is all I have known for the last 30 years so the thought of leaving was a tad bit scary.....but yet very exciting.

The people I worked with at Black Box couldn't believe I was retiring

My guy....Brooks....he knew what I was feeling

My Photo Gallery titled "The Last Day" tells the rest of the story....

WOW.....30 Years.....I can't believe this is "The Last Day"



"I can't get my name plate off the wall....been there too long I guess"

It's really over now.....turning in my laptop....my whole work life is stored in it

Going out in style....working late on my last day.....5:44 pm CST





One last wave good-bye....."Hey, where is everybody"?



 

Black Box "Soldier Boy"....one last time




Out the door for the last time......."I'm going to Disney World!"

Free at last.....free at last

If September 23rd was "The Last Day" at work then Saturday, September 24th would have to be considered "The First Day" of being "on the outside".


THE FIRST DAY

One of my good friends from college, Darrell (Oly) Olson, decided that we needed to recognize my first official day of freedom. The plan was to celebrate this big day by meeting for breakfast on Saturday morning, September 24th.. In an effort to make this day extra special Oly invited people from several of my different worlds of friends to join us. The official name that Oly gave this event was "Palmer's Only Annual Retirement Breakfast" and it was going to be held at 9:00 am in downtown Maple Grove at a restaurant named "3 Squares".

Let the party begin...."3 Squares" in Maple Grove

I didn't really expect many people to attend this breakfast because I thought that no one would have the time to drive up to Maple Grove early on a Saturday morning. I was however pleasantly surprised to find out that 14 people had accepted Oly's invitation. As it turned out 5 of my "worlds" were going to collide at this breakfast.

I can't believe that all these people showed up....worlds are colliding

It was an all-star guest list - Darrell Olson, Kris Olson, Steve Hinrichs, Greg Owens, Darwin Kreft, Craig Johnson, Doug Boese, Tom Christenson, Mike Storbakken, Joe Sullivan, Mary Klauk, Julie Palach, Jill Lidstone, Kent Stadum. (Worlds - College, High School, Work, Pick-up basketball group, friends through other friends).

How do you know Palmer?

Working in the world of sales for all these years has taught me that once a meeting has been completed one of the attendees is required to write up the "meeting notes" and list out all of the items that are on the "action plan" that was agreed upon during the meeting. I of course took on this responsibility for the group.

Greg (Big O) Owens and Doug (Count) Boese discuss the "Action Plan"

BREAKFAST MEETING NOTES
-Palmer waived the $5 dollar ticket charge for the breakfast
-Darrell (Oly) Olson gave the opening address and welcomed the guests
-Palmer introduced all of the guests
-5 of Palmer's world's collided...Zumbrota, College, Work, Pick up basketball, friends via other friends
-Doug (Count) Boese gets the award for coming from farthest ..Rochester, MN
-Mary Klauk gets the award for knowing Palmer the shortest amount of time...24 hours
-Jill Lidstone and Julie Palach validated that Palmer actually did work as a sales rep at Norstan/Black Box
-A half-way house is recommended for Palmer as he transitions into retirement
-Concern is expressed about the life at the half-way house - see movie Shawshank Redemption (Brooks)
-Old stories are retold for the umpteenth time and everyone still laughs just as hard
-Palmer explains why fellowship saves lives....see Columbine High and Virginia Tech
-Oly does a sales pitch for "Tour de Doubleday", the official sponsor of the breakfast
-Palmer shows the Halloween costume that he has been required to wear for the last 27 years
-Dress Shirt, Tie and "Game Face" mask are cut into pieces by Palmer
-A rousing rendition of the song "Happy Trails" is sung by the attendees ...Oly carries the group
-All of the other customers in the restaurant responded by giving spirited applause once the song was completed

Mary (24 Hour) Klauk...Jill Lidstone...Julie Palach

Joe Sullivan.....Mike (Storbs) Storbakken - Basketball gang..... Friend via Friends

Greg (Big O) Owens..... Doug (Count) Boese - Cobber World

Jill Lidstone..... Julie Palach - Work World



Darwin (Dyno) Kreft...Jeff (Wolf Dog) Wolf - Cobber World




Kent (Stade) Stadum.....Darrell (Oly) Olson - Cobber World



Craig (Moose) Johnson.....Darwin (Dyno) Kreft - Cobber World



Fellowship.....Saving Lives...

MEETING - ACTION PLAN
-Continue to save lives.....see fellowship....google Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris if you need further validation
-Palmer must check into a half way house, carve his name into the ceiling and stay away from ropes (i.e.Brooks)
-Palmer will plan FACDAT - First Annual Cord Day at Target (Field) next summer
-Review the details of FACDAM - First Annual Cord Day at Met (Stadium) in 1976
-Save the date of Saturday, September 23, 2012 - Palmer's Second Annual "Only Annual Retirement Breakfast"

It's the start of a brand new life.....what will the future hold????????
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