But lo and behold we had an NFBC customer who was taking a cross-country trek this month and decided to travel north on his way out west to check out our surroundings. Rick Thomas is an NFBC and NFFC Charter Member who was in the area this summer for a series of MLB games and Tom and I were able to meet RT at Miller Park for a great time at a Brewers' game. Rick even took a tour of the STATS offices in Northbrook, Illinois after heading down south during that trip for a White Sox game.
He didn't come to Iola during the summer trip, but headed up north this time around and arrived in Iola on Sunday. Unbelievably, it was 82 degrees that day and Rick arrived just in time for the first pitch of the Brewers' Game 1 NLCS against the Cardinals. As luck would have it, the beer was flowing as we watched a Brewers' win together and then got the grill out for a post-game/pre-game Packers' fryout of brats (and beer/potato salad/cole slaw)!! When in Rome, eat what the Romans eat, right?
Then it was back to the tube to watch the Packers manhandle the Falcons on Sunday Night Football. What a first day.RT came to the NFBC office first thing in the morning and witnessed first hand what the Man Cave looks like.
I know he gave it a thumbs up. I gave him a tour of our town of 1,298 folks, showed him the noon hour hoops court, the indoor swimming pool where my daughter is a lifeguard, the 18-hole golf course, the failing downtown and of course my old stomping grounds at Krause Publications. RT gave our little town and our safe living conditions a solid thumbs up, which made us feel good.We were going to head to Lambeau Field for a tour, but instead landed some tickets to Game 2 of the NLCS in Milwaukee. Since it was again 80 degrees, we hit the tailgate early, soaked up the sun and fun in the parking lot and then watched a rough loss by the Brew Crew. Still, there's nothing quite like being inside the stadium for an intense Game 2 matchup with so much on the line and seeing a Hall of Famer like Albert Pujols perform like one of the greats of the game that he is was worth the price of admission. It was a great event to be at.
RT stuck around on Tuesday morning before jumping into the RV and turning on the DirecTV satellite dish for the second half of his ride to Montana. I can't tell you how great it was to see one of our top customers stop into Iola to meet my family and our business and we'll welcome him and anyone else into our friendly confines down the road. RT, next year we do the tour of the Packers' Hall of Fame and maybe even a home game at Lambeau Field!!!
That would be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet.When he has time, maybe RT can post a picture or two from his cross-country trip, including his stop in Iola. Show the proof that you were here RT!!
With any luck, his van will head to Phoenix in early November for a trip to Ron Shandler's Arizona Fall League Symposium. There he can hook up with fellow NFBC regulars Todd Zola, Mike O'Connor, myself, Dave Potts, and others. Let's do it again RT.GREAT SEEING YA RT!!! You can now tell everyone that there really is an Iola, Wisconsin.