I made the beautiful drive yesterday from Denver to a small town in New Mexico just outside of Santa Fe. The leaves on the trees are turning all sorts of colors and the mountains stand majestically in the background--sometimes two and three layers deep. At one point, I pulled out my camera at a rest stop and took a number of photos. If they turn out to be decent, I'll post a couple of them here in the next few days.
I arrived at the conference center I'll be teaching at this week and met an old friend--a pastor from Michigan whom I originally met at this very conference five or six years ago. We drove down into Santa Fe and enjoyed a nice meal and attempted to get caught up in each other's lives. I loved hearing about his kids and how they were doing. His daughter just finished running a marathon. How impressive is that? Our conversation meandered like a slow moving crooked stream from theology to politics to blogging to culture and back again.
It reminded me of the camaraderie I used to have with co-workers when I worked in an office. Granted, my friend and I only see each other once a year rather than five times a week, but that's the nature of the business we are in. And it's one of the many reasons I enjoy going to writers conferences. Every time I attend a different one, I see people I only see once a year in that particular city and we find the time to catch up. I love that.
