Tough Act to Follow

Friends,

My travels have me back in the metro area of Washington, D.C. as I spent last night in Hagerstown, MD, about a mile from the Civil War battlefield Antietam. I worked all day today in D.C., spending much of the morning at Frager's Hardware on Pennsylvania Ave. Though at first glance this store was much like every other mom and pop hardware store I call on daily, this one had a pretty cool story. Last year, when President Bush was promoting measures that would aid small business, he visited this store for a tour. After all, it was just down the street from his house! I talked to the store owner about the visit today, and he said that last year's VIP visit by the president was preceded by weeks of preparation. Though flattering, he said it was an exhausting undertaking!

Check out the picture I've included. I found this online and the cool part is, if you look to the left of President Bush, you'll see a bunch of yellow packaged goods. These are IRWIN chalk reels and chalk canisters, every day items for many tradesman on job sites and products I sell daily! I tell you what, just when I thought I'd seen it all this year...

Tomorrow I'll be back in D.C. before heading to Richmond for the night. I'll close out the week in Roanoke, VA and spend the weekend in Charlotte helping Stephanie move into her newly-purchased townhouse!

Hope you're all well and thanks for reading.

On the road,

Matt