"Your Grandson needs to stop fantasizing so much!"

These were the words of an elderly, Remarkable gentleman Darrell and I met in the most unlikely of places. As we were sitting on a dock on an usually chilly night in a crowd of people, he shared with us the story of his then 8 year old grandson and how his teacher told his parents that his "story" couldn't possibly be real . . . But that night - we believed!

This past weekend was a little unusual for me as I was spending the weekend in Sarasota, FL with Darrell instead of going home to icy Indiana. We picked a cozy little B & B on the Gulf of Mexico, had breakfast, and began to plan our day. What did we want to do?

We decided to drive and just let the wind take us. As I mentioned earlier, it was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining and we started in on a very relaxing day. We walked along the path on a marina nearby. We drove down the coast to Siesta Beach where I have to confess they have the whitest sand I've ever seen. And we picked a little out the way restaurant on one of the bays for lunch.

As we were eating, all of a sudden, Darrell gasped and remembered something. He pulled out his phone which somehow has internet connections and began to search. "I don't know," he said, "but it would be so fun!" I smiled, but didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Then he sighed heavily and told me that he had always dreamed of "this" and it wasn't very likely that it would be happening today either. "It's only got a 30% chance of actually happening," he frowned, "and it's 3 hours away."

A 30% chance of a lifelong dream coming true and it's only 3 hours away - I'm in!!! After all, isn't that what love and friendship are really all about? Believing in one another's dreams, taking the risks together, and making the best out of whatever happens in the end??

We started to make the 3 hour drive, and took a little bit of a detour in Orlando. We stopped on International Drive at a Friendly's for ice cream sundaes, and he checked the internet again. "It's still at 30%. We could just stay here and enjoy Orlando." he suggested . . . How easy it is for all of us to get on a path towards our dreams only to get sidetracked by a "more sure" thing?

Sure, it would've been a load of fun to stay in Orlando. We could've gone to Epcot Center, Wonderworks, shopped, or minature golfed at this really cool little place OR we could get back in the car, drive another 1 1/2 hours on a big maybe. What would you have done?

Personally, I said, "No way! Orlando will be here for a long time to come, but your lifelong dream and this event doesn't happen everyday. This is your chance, as remote as it is, and we're going for it!"

We got back into the car and drove to Titusville, FL where a crowd had already started to gather. We looked across the 6 mile river and saw the lights brightly shining up into the sky. We heard they had upgraded the chance for launch to 70% now, weather conditions looked favorable, and the final countdowns had begun. Could it really happen? Could we be so lucky? Could Darrell actually experience his lifelong dream of watching a spaceshuttle lift off from Cape Canaveral?

As we waited on the dock, we heard the Grandfather share the "fantasy" story of his Grandson. This man's son works for NASA, and on a very special day many years ago, this man was able to take his other daughter's son into the space center and hold him up to touch the Spaceship Columbia. The teacher told him that it was impossible. He couldn't possibly have actually done that? He believes that these fantasies are true!

As we stood on that dock, watching the Spaceship Discovery lift off the ground, light up the night sky with more than 7 million pounds of pressure and fire, travelling at a rate of thousands of miles per second, nothing sounded like it was impossible.

With only a 30% chance, lifelong dreams abolustely can and do come true!

The Remarkable Traveller!

Where in the world is Gloria?? It's a question I seem to be asked often these days, and I know I've been pretty quiet for a little while now. BUT, I'm back . . again : ) And ready to share with YOU, all that's been happening in my life and all that I'm learning and experiencing.

First, I must share that I've been quiet because I have been travelling. I made the decision about a month and a half ago to partner up with a business consulting firm out of the Chicago area where they ship me off to any part of the country or Canada to work with a company for several weeks at a time. I have to confess - I'm loving it!!!

I love the work, the people, the challenge of coming into a new industry and learning all there is to learn about it, the dynamics of people working together in all different ways, the many accounting programs that are out there (I had no idea there were so many!), the nitty gritty of sales & marketing, and all the tricks of the trade when it comes to savvy travelling.

I cannot tell you how many Remarkable People I have met while I've been travelling - a family who was bringing home their son after he was wounded in Iraq, a grandmother who had spent a week in Las Vegas taking care of her 2 granddaughters and it was her first trip on an airplane, a husband who couldn't wait to get home to his wife because she had run a marathon that day and needed a massage, a 19 year old man who was in the Army Reserves and had adopted triplets, a wonderful gal who is in her early forties and expecting twins next summer, a custom home builder from Hilton Head, NC, who grew up in the "Home of the White Squirrel" where they'd have squirrel counting as extra credit in high school (really!), another great guy who also travelled for a living who told me I was the most fun person he had ever sat next to on a plane : ), and an amazing adolescent psychologist who has written several books, speaks across the country, and reminded me that it is only in school that we are expected to be good at everything . . .

There have been so many stories that I just have to begin to sharing them. I would love for you to read my blog each week as I share one of my travelling stories with you. In the big picture of things, I'd love for this to be the beginnings of my next book - A year of travel and the Remarkable People I've met! - or something along those line. So, if there is a little voice inside of you that would love to get out and meet some new people - then join me as I travel each week. I promise - it is never boring!!

Oh, and if you can tell me where the "Home of the White Squirrel" is, you get an extra bonus : )

Til next week - Be Remarkable wherever you are!!