I didn't make it to GIS this year, a victim of two powers greater than I -- the weather and the airlines -- who consorted and conspired to befoul and befuddle my life yet again.

No, this will not be another travel rant.  I have given up, raised the white flag; can't and won't fight it any more.  But a word or two of explanation might be in order.

In nutshell, I arrived at Burlington (VT) airport on Monday afternoon full of expectation of another week of camaraderie and the latest in golf maintenance gear.  Bright, sunny afternoon, not a care in the world. Stepped up to the counter to check my bag and the friendly USAir representative asked me to step over there and they would rebook me, as my outbound flight was delayed and I would miss my connection in PHL.

Bright, sunny afternoon, not a care in the world. Stepped up to the counter to check my bag and the friendly USAir representative asked me to step over there...

Here we go again, I thought.  

My rebooking would have gone like this:  I had to leave on that flight because otherwise they couldn't get me out of BTV until mid-week.  It was spring break for the Burlington colleges, and between that and spillover cancellations from the weather-disrupted weekend, everything was booked two days out.

So I could get to PHL, but the connection I would miss was the last flight to SAT for the day.  Grab a hotel room.  By then it was snowing and icy in Dallas, which threw all of Texas into tumult. Nothing available going into anywhere in TX until Wednesday. But they could get me to Chicago on Tuesday, overnight there and I could get into SAT at 5:41 PM on Wednesday.

I would miss our Emerald Challenge golf event with Irish superintendents on Tuesday, Beer & Pretzels on Tuesday night and all of the show on Wednesday.  Great plan.

That was when I raised the white flag.  I didn't get pissed off (well, ...), just calmly declined their offer of rerouting and two overnights along the way.  I arranged for a refund, went back to my car and drove home.

Not going to fight it. Can't fight it. Won't fight it any more.

But the show goes on. First one I've missed since my first in '82. I would be working this one remotely via Twitter, keeping in cell and Skype contact with Jon Kiger, John Reitman and Eleanor Geddes, who ably carried the TurfNet flag at The Challenge, B&P and the show.

It was a little weird.  I don't think I missed all that much product-wise on the show floor, but I did miss the camaraderie and seeing people I only get to see once a year. I REALLY missed shaking hands on Thursday with Fred Gehrisch, our newly crowned Superintendent of the Year.

It was a little weird.  I don't think I missed all that much product-wise on the show floor, but I did miss the camaraderie...

And I missed yet another opportunity for a face-to-face with Hector Velazquez, this after our first meet and greet earlier this year in Providence was snowed out.  Yep, that's right... Hector and I have never met in person. 

Hector and his two sons, in fact, drove all the way to San Antonio from Michigan, and he was like a kid in a candy shop at his first GIS. Check out his Twitter feed @HectorsShop.  In many ways I lived the show vicariously through Hector.  Good stuff.

Kevin Ross kept sending me pics of himself with my various buddies, all with the caption, "Where's the Maestro?"  At least somebody missed me. Or maybe he was just rubbing it in...

So that was it.  You can work around seeing the new products but you can't work around missing the people.

And that's what this industry is all about.