I had been working at Fayetteville State University in their computer department for a couple of years (August 7, 1995) when I asked to go to the Spring Internet World ’97 Conference in Los Angeles. Leo Taylor, was my boss, and my friend so he approved this trip, but those above him bawked at it, and there was foot dragging almost to the last minute and I was signing travelers’ checks at First Citizens on the morning before I flew out of Fayetteville. The majority of these checks were used for me to pay for the conference, once I arrived. The foot dragging had meant that they didn’t send the payment, in advance, like they easily could have. 

As I recall, the flight there was without connecting flights, but I think the return trip had one connection where on the last leg of my return I boarded a prop-commuter that seemed a little “iffy” to me.

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The conference was held in the LA Convention Center, which was also used as one of the filming locations in the SciFi movie, “Starship Troopers.” The facility structure has a lot of metal beams, all painted white. 

I’ll hopefully come back to fill in more details later, but I wanted to mention that a short time before this conference trip, and that may have only been a week or two, I had gone down to Georgia to visit my half-sister, Donna, and attend her wedding. She had her wedding at a beautiful Baptist church, with tall ceilings, white walls and shiny brass lighting. A dream setting for her first wedding. The boy loved her, but ultimately she was damaged emotionally and had a needful personality and after several years she divorced.

But, I wanted to mention that I met some of my sister’s relatives during this wedding. I don’t recall their names, but there was a man who lived in California and who either had worked or was working for Boeing. It may not have been Boeing, but it was one of those largest companies that build commercial jets. The gentleman generously invited me to stay at his home a few days while I was out at the conference. *Hope I’m not making that part up. I remember the hotel I stayed at, which was something like the Hollywood Hilton, but it wasn’t a new, upscale destination. but something that might have existed since the 1950s. Small rooms, but obviously well worn. At some point we got together and he drove me around and we even visited Nixon’s Presidential Library, where they had moved his childhood home. The choice that day was either the Nixon Library or a trip to a Monastery (don’t recall which religious group, but I think it was Oriental, or maybe Buddhist). We also drove from above the Malibu Pier down to Venice Beach. So, in a very short time, I visited a few of the many iconic locations around or near LA and I dipped my toe in the Pacific Ocean. *I grew up on the Atlantic coast, but have also dipped my toe in the Gulf. I have been to Detroit, MI for about a week, a long time ago, and visited Chicago twice. I don’t recall if I ever dipped a toe in one of the Great Lakes, but I had to cross at least one to visit the Canadian city, Windsor, across from Detroit.

On my Chicago trips, I did go up the Sears Tower both times, but at night both visits. Perhaps the more interesting visit was to an old mansion that was being used for a Battered Women’s Shelter. This was a sprawling old home, multi-story, and even unused, unfurnished, dusty rooms. I recall seeing a very small old elevator, that I’m not sure was even in working order still. But the most interesting part of this old home was a half sized gymnasium. I say gym, but it had a small indoor basketball gym that had a glass superstructure that looked out on the Chicago skyline.