The Good, the Bad and the Oddly...

One of the things about sales is you can spend quite a bit of time on the road, especially in restaurants. Sometimes it's really good. You get to visit new restaurants or develop favorites in other towns and cities (there's a little sushi shop in Philadelphia on 17th, right near a client I had. The client hated sushi, so I used to try to schedule him for 10.30 am. I wrapped up my meetings right before the lunch rush, and went over to grab a table before my next appointment). (I have travelled mostly in Pennsylvania, which, under the category of the good, offers some spectacular views. I especially like the mountains out west in the Laurel Highlands. And, you get to visit some places you might not ordinarily visit, like Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Waters).

Believe me--it's not all fun, no matter what my non-expense-account, teacher-wife would have you think. Nothing says bad restaurants on the road, like food poisoning (twice), though. Still, overall I haven't had a lot of bad road experiences...but I know people who have broken down, run out of gas (in the rain), been run off the road by trucks...again, I've been fortunate.

And then there's the odd. One of the stranger things, at least in Pennsylvania, is putting odd things on top of, or in front of, their restaurants. I have eaten at two of these restaurants: Zinn's Diner, with it's Giant Amish Men where the food was utterly forgettable. The reason I remember it at all was the Amish guy and the fact that I was taking a business trip with my dad, which was cool-beyond-cool as I was about 12 at the time. This week I ate at Kelly's with it's giant cow, in Boalsburg outside of State College. I'm pleased to report they are more than just a gimick--get the salad with REAL grilled chicken.

There are some pretty strange things on the Internet, but I'm not convinced that a life in sales, as it flits and flirts with the edges of reality, isn't stranger still...