Brower Family Productions: Week 2 or Our Journey to Salt Lake and the final decision

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Week 2 or Our Journey to Salt Lake and the final decision

Leaving Ocala heading to Orlando was the culmination to our emotional rollercoaster ride, when we arrived in Salt Lake we were excited about our decision, but also a little hesitant since Matt knew that the Mayor would be asking him when they went to lunch what he had decided.
Matt has nothing but respect and admiration for our Mayor Rick and has gone fishing many times with him and his boys and so felt like he was saying goodbye to a dear friend. Rick was really nice, told Matt he was excited that he was getting this opportunity, hated to see him go but understood. Also told him that the council would probably want to counter offer and Matt told him that he couldn't do that to the city since he had been telling his employee's to tighten their belts on their budgets and what would it look like if he took a raise, plus he said the facts were that he knew that he would lose respect for himself since he knew that the city couldn't in the long run afford to match the wage he was being offered. Matt also said he cared to much for the city to take a raise and lose the respect of his employees. He wanted the city to continue on it's prosperous climb of becoming a great little town! (something like that.)

The weather in Salt Lake was a tad nippy and being that i only brought florida warm weather clothes, I got to go shopping and get some warmer wear. It was really fun! I got a cute cream sweater coat (a clong,crochet,) a pair of jeans, a plum wool top, the funnest funkiest heels ever (torquise, brown and plum,) and a beautiful shift dress, ( which i wore to the dinner/airsupply concert!)

Some of the meetings we attended were awesome- the guy that takes pictures of the vast consumerism going on in our country- for instance a huge pile of smashed cars, the millions of cellphones thrown out or given to recycling plants in the USA, plastic water bottle waste, etc.... if you haven't seen these pictures you should check out Chris Jordan's work, it is amazing! Some may say that he has too much time on his hands and yet, he has made me more aware of what i throw away and what i recycle or reuse.

I missed the first day luncheon where Doris Kearns Goodwin the author and NBC T.V. Analyst spoke. She was talking about her book "Team of Rivals" a book about Abraham Lincoln. I read her book about Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt a few years back and thought it was very well written and informative, so I have aching to read the one about Abraham Lincoln. Interestingly enough Ricky Horst had one of these in his office and I had pointed it out to Matt when we first went to Ocala City Hall.
I really would have loved to hear her talk, Matt loved her session the most.

One of the activities for the evening besides the Airsupply concert (where one of the main singers held my hand and winked at me while he was singing- I'm all out of love!) was going to the Gateway and watching Mama Mia. Matt and I had already seen it, but we went because I wanted to see the council's reaction to Peirce Brosnon and Meryl Streep singing, if you have seen the movie you will understand what the big draw to my curiousity was, if you haven't seen it- wait to see it on video!
Funny thing- Matt and I truly believe that the girl that plays Meryl Streep's daughter is a long lost sister of mine since she looks just like Sharon when Sharon was a teenager! This girl is beautiful just like Sharon and she has a really nice voice!

Here are more pics:

I love this random picture I took of our luggage in the Denver Airport!

Here is Mr. Matthew J. Brower- soon to be Ocala Asst.City Manager over Utilites! He better get used to wearing that tie, because he has to wear ties to work and hasn't had to on a daily basis for 9 years!