The fires are screaming and the fire's a-howling way down in the valley tonight
There's a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye and a blade shining oh so bright
There's evil in the air and thunder in the sky and a killer's on the bloodshot streets
And down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising you know I swear I saw a young man
Down in the gutter He was starting to foam from the heat
- Artist?
I was in Omaha last week presenting for MSDN on some of the fun stuff that we do. I was in the hotel restaurant for dinner making small talk with the bar manager when I asked him how things were going. His eyes lit up, and he told me about a plan he had for a new promotion he came up with. He calls it International Night, in which each night they feature a different country such as Spain, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Mexico, etc. and for each one he had a menu of appetizers, drink specials and even a place where he's planning to display the countries flag. After hearing him go through his list he told that they used to do theme nights but somehow it had died out. You could feel his infectuous enthusiasm for his project, and you knew it is going to succeed. I asked him about his job, and he's retired from a pretty successful career in finance, and he does the restaurant because he really likes it. He loves his job.
Later I was talking with a farmer name Dave from Idaho who was in town for a seed convention. Now Omaha is in the heartland, so I guessed that it had something to do with corn or beef, but I was mistaken. I asked him about his farm, and he told me he grew prairie grass & wild flower seed, and had a few horses. As our conversation took form, it became apparent that Dave is no ordinary farmer and that he enjoys rising to the challenge of growing stuff that is harder to do. With basic things like corn & soybeans the path is well worn, but you can get bored with it. Instead of simply accepting that, he decided to try growing harder and harder varieties of plants because the feeling of overcoming the obstacles makes him feel alive. He told me he really looks forward to getting up in the morning because he's got the greatest life in the world. He loves his job.
We talked about what makes this country what it is. What makes Americans unique and different from the rest of the world? If you could put one word to it, I'd have to say it is passion. Since it was founded, the passionate in the world have beat a path to our doorstep and risked everything to make a better life in this country. You see it everyday in the people you meet and in the way that America is a leader on the world stage. The passion is apparent in our sports (think NBA, NFL, Olympics, etc), our art (Hollywood - when they're not stuck on themselves, New York), our technology, and in our generosity.
I work for a passionate company and they've given me the opportunity of a lifetime. Something that I only dreamed about. I get paid to learn about cool technologies and then share what I know with people around the country. I get to make the world a better place by showing people how they can do cool stuff and make a difference where they work. Dave told me he & I are different, that he doesn't like the crowd. But you know, we really aren't. I love my job.