Day 14: Dinner on Drummond

So I got a little cold. I woke up at least 10 times in the middle-of-the night to blow my nose. Oh well, I’m in a bed and I have Kleenex – not just the fake kind, but the brand that actually owns that marketing rights. I woke up around 8:30 and studied Wills until 12:30, when I went on a 6-mile scamper on the hilly roads of Drummond Island. I kept thinking - 'I'm on a island in the Great Lakes.'

And then the direction came, I arrived to Bohica Lodge, the address of Professor Haley, who showed me his property complexes, including ‘The Rock.’ The golf course appears to be more suited for my cousins Ryan and Brett – something I thought of when thinking of when I come back to the “Gem of Lake Huron.”

We saw his hunting grounds and he showed me how Maple Syrup is made -- literally the tools used.

I learned a few things during our more than three-hour chat. (1) He reminded me a bit of my paternal grandfather. Whenever we drove by someone, Haley waived. My grandpa use to do that whenever we were driving around Chesaning. Just like when my grandfather was alive and I was a kid in Chesaning, I just assumed that Professor Haley did know everyone. Just like when I was 10 it was kind of comforting knowing that someone did know everyone. (2) He loves his wife. As much as he talks about the realities of life, he complements those conversation with how wonderful his wife is in the many talents she has. I kept thinking. I hope to feel that way when I am in my early 80s. Shit, I hope to feel that way in my late 20s. (3) He’s a savvy businessman, but it all stems from him doing things the right way. As he showed me around his projects on the island, there was never a sentiment of deceit, cheating or doing things half-ass. If you can’t feel proud of that then I don’t know what you can. And the more he showed, the more he spent touting proud the projects of others. Take the chair in his computer room, a friend made it for his home and we spent about 15 minutes talking about how it came to fruition. To give thanks for others talents is a virtue we can’t ever forget to possess.

We parted for an hour before Dinner on Drummond and then I headed back to his house to join himself and his wife for dinner. On the menu: elk pate from elk that he hunted for appetizer, Greek style rack of lamp, fire-grilled over maplewood for dinner, and we enjoyed some grand marnier sorbet for dinner. Dinner, which took just over three hours, involved talking about life, both present and past for the three of us, and the night concluded with Professor Haley giving me advice on the Bar, affirming my motivation to pass this damn test. And then it was back to the bunkhouse where I watched some Trusts notes and took a nap.

If Drummond has taught me anything -- and it has taught me more than a small post on the web can convey -- it has affirmed that people come into your life at different times for different reasons, and you have to sometimes sit back and listen or you’ll never learn. And to think, none of the past few days would have ever happened if I hadn’t asked to get into Mergers after the class was already full.