Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Richard & Kelli

18 August 2009 - Latakkia, Syria - Dixy Chicken

This reminded me of all my Aggie friends in Texas (and the ones that migrated to London). I didn't attend Texas A&M but [bxA] I've been to a few football games, heard all about the Dixie Chicken, and I listen to Robert Earl Keen sing about life in College Station.
When I was in the US in July, I spent a few days with Richard & Kelli, two of my favorite Aggies who now live in Charlotte, NC. We were all living in London when their son Nicholas was born (so he's like 2 and a half years old now, I think). Nicholas is the cutest happiest little guy ever - he sang in the car for over two hours...every children's song under the sun. A week later I was playing with my six year old nephew and when he suggested we employ "teamwork" on some Lego-type project, I burst into song, "What's gonna work? Teamwork!" My nephew was perplexed, "how do you know that song, Auntie Ali?"
The Dixy Chicken in Syria reminded me that I owe Richard & Keli a major thank-you note for hosting me in their lovely home...it's on my very long list of things to do. It also reminded me of that time we did a recruiting road trip to College Station - Kelli looking for junior consultants; Richard, Joe S and I looking for young banker upstarts. Did we find any?
And anything A&M always reminds me of Scott J, another favorite banker friend, who always says "howdy."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hiya there Ali - pardon my ignorance, but what are "Aggie friends" - farmers ? short for Agriculturists ? I'm betting on your answer to this being a 'no'.....don't know why, just a hunch I have. Down here in the land of vegemites, our farmers (those brave aussie souls who make their living off the land) are affectionately referred to as 'cockies' - not to be confused with the same abbreviation that is used here for cockroaches - which you have had the misfortune to become very familiar with through no effort on your part - the word 'cocky' is a shortened word for our indigenous cockatoos (parrots).... am using my best David Attenborough voice here ... their common name is 'sulfur crested cockatoos' because of their brilliant flouro yellow head crest feathers. The birds are snow white and when annoyed they raise their dazzling yellow feathers and screech like the crazies; they don't necessarily need to be annoyed to screech, in fact they are well known to screech for any reason whatsoever that takes their fancy and if I effin' catch them pilfering another plump passionfruit from my vine then they'll be lucky to survive to screech another day - feckin' thieven' screechen' mothers.....dang them all to hell and back.....grrrrrr.....ok,have now calmed down......toodles & x's

Anonymous said...

Texas A & M University...a & m stands for agricultural & mechanical...but the a & m are only symbolic now. A & M alumni are called Aggies.

Anonymous said...

Well, thank yous very much for clarification, appreciated ::o9

kas said...

This is hilarious. So I am really late catching up on your blog and I am reading it backwards. Nicholas is still singing, his latest is "I've been working on the railroad" and to my amazement he knows every freakin' word of that song. Please don't send me a thank you note, then I have to figure out what to do with the paper:) You can't throw it away because it is usually to nice or sentimental. I don't need anything but a postcard with a stamp from your travels would be good. The little eight year old next door collects stamps and I am almost positive she does not have one from Lebanon.