The Road's My Middle Name

BirdWatch America is a great place to see the year's new products. This one was fairly predictable.

Finally back home from my southern campaign--five days, two trade shows, thousands of people, two hotel rooms, and three airplanes full of sneezing, coughing fellow travelers. Sadly, no trips to Waffle House. But life on the road is just so.... perfectly discomforting. That's why the road is my middle name. William Henry The Road Thompson, III.

It's raining here now, and warm, but the freezing weather is headed this way. Hope it does not complicate Zick's southern campaign which launches in a few days.

Here are just a few images from BirdWatch America, the Atlanta tradeshow for the birding industry that is always a complete schmoozefest for all of us at BWD. We've been doing this show for enough years that it's more like a reunion than a straight biz trip.

Oh, and the forecasters were right. There WAS a bit of skaryoke in ATL, at a club called B-52's, though we heard none of the music of this seminal Georgia band while we were in da club. There was spartan turn-out from the usual birding karaoke krew, too, but we persevered and had fun anyway. Jeff Gordon (see below) sang perhaps his finest version of "Secret Agent Man" ever. I branched out with a new song: "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard. BirdChick crooned a couple of emotive ballads--there was not a dry eye in the house. We missed having AJ, JB, and JZ there to raise the quality of the performances. It seemed to be "Tone-Deaf Karaoke Night" at B-52's.

It's good to be back home. Happy MLK Day!

At the SHOT Show many booths feature scantily clad women or NASCAR drivers to lure in potential customers. We used Jeff "The Birder" Gordon as "booth candy" in the BWD booth at BirdWatch America.

Chet Baker wants to go as our booth candy next year. He heard Phoebe Stokes was there this year and he felt left out.