“Education Specialist. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. What is that all about?” he asked. I responded, “We believe when you have a drug problem, you should only see a doctor, not a judge. You can appreciate how difficult it is to sell that concept.” The Congressman nodded as he exited the elevator.

What a memory!: Walking down the hallway, two guys were chatting with one another. As we passed, one shouted to me, “Go Spartans!” I responded, “Go Green and White!” I recognized him as a staffer I chatted with a good month ago….it must be the hat. (Michigan State U is my alma mater. I essentially never mention it, except to perhaps Michigan offices)

Why they pay me the big bucks (LOL):

A. On Tuesday evening I attended a presentation by a French journalist at the French embassy. His speech had been translated into English for the 100 odd listeners. The Q & A was a bit tedious as each question was asked in English, translated to French, answered in French and then back to English. I was able to ask the last question of the evening. Naturellement, I asked my two sentence question en français.

As we all sipped some red wine afterwards, I had 6 people come up to me to congratulate me on my French. I was able to talk about LEAP to all, including the presenter. Who said, Always be Prepared?

B. Making my presentation to the staffer of Puerto Rico Delegate Fortuño, I spoke only Spanish for 20 minutes. As I learned in my travels, speaking to someone in their mother tongue does not guarantee anything. However, the audience is more inclined to listen.

NOTE: The United Nations’ every-10-years drug conference is in March 2008 in Vienna and I will be there. I expect to be the only person there who can saddle a horse and speak 4 languages.