I have been in Emmitsburg, Maryland at the Emergency Management Institute since Sunday evening. I have been here teaching a class for FEMA with my ever-pleasant colleague David McEntire from the University of North Texas. The class was only a two day class so I’ll be headed home bright and early tomorrow morning. That means I will miss the Wednesday breakfast blintzes and karaoke night – bummer. Those will have to wait until I am here next time in June.
Fortunately, I got to see and visit with so many of my favorite people here to include the ever delightful Barbara Johnson and the very funny Shannon Cool. I know FEMA thinks I come here to contribute to the greater good by teaching courses and working on important projects, but the reason I really keep coming here is the people. I laugh so much in this place.
Yesterday, while walking across the beautiful EMI campus I felt compelled to snap a photo of a blooming tree with my phone’s camera. The photo isn’t that great overall as I was walking and photo-taking at the same time – thank heaven I wasn’t also attempting to chew gum, it could have been catastrophic. At any rate, this photo – however poor the quality is – captured something that I could not see when I took the photo. You can see it there below – a rainbow.
Now you can’t really see the tree I was after and you may tip over trying to put yourself in my same vantage point, but I think I fortuitously captured something even better…something I would have never seen had I not taken the photo.
It seems apropos – a rainbow in Emmitsburg. That is how my days here are – full of rainbows. Most of them aren’t the kind captured here – most of them are splashes of happy color across my interactions on this campus. Beautiful, colorful interactions that paint my world with joy. I love this place. 
Day nine hundred and ninety-five of the new forty – obla di obla da
Ms. C