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Last Thursday morning I left for New York City. We did a quick blitz of all the sites: Time Square (our hotel was here), Central Park, Trump Tower (pic), Rockefeller Center (pic), 5th Ave., went to the top of the Empire State bldg. at night (pic above), saw ground zero (pic), statue of Liberty, NY stock exchange and Wall St….and all of that in less than 24hrs.
Typically when I travel I go to Portland airport an hour before my flight leaves, go through security, wait, and board the plane – finding my seat in coach somewhere. But not this time. Oh, not even close.
I pulled into a private hanger and parked my car. And this is the plane I took! Yep, private jet. I want to make this clear: this was NOT a speaking event, nor is this normal for me (in ANYWAY!). Nevertheless, we happen to have friends that know some very wealthy people…who have a private jet and had a business trip in NYC – and we were able to tag along for the ride. Someone has to do it, right?
Anyway, we boarded the plane, and got comfortable – check out the inside…
Now, talk about a “date” with my wife. Who wouldn’t take this opportunity to take their spouse to NYC!?. It was incredible, and totally relaxing. No jet lag on this flight my friends. On the way back I even sprawled out on the couch (see above) and took an hour nap. Crazy experience, for sure. But two things really made this an experience that will forever stick in my mind.
First, on the way back into Portland I got to sit with the pilot and co-pilot as they landed the plane. This gave me a very different perspective, for sure. I listened into traffic control as well. Of course I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying. Nevertheless it was a very cool experience and something I’ll surely never forget.
Secondly, and this is where the irony really comes in. Thursday morning after eating a first class meal on a private jet somewhere over the Dakota’s, I took out my computer to get some work done. This was a last minute trip so I had to work on my message for Sunday (yesterday). All of the sudden it hit me…I’m preparing this message on a first class private jet and the passage I’m speaking on is about injustice and oppression. Whoa, talk about the swing of a pendulum…
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