Dear Gus & Magnus,

Today was a whirlwind. Click here for a more detailed explanation, but the short version is that I started the day physically and mentally exhausted, never felt rehearsed enough despite spending all day at the venue. But somehow the show went well anyway. I was shocked that Brock gave the Video Team the President's Cup this year -- something that was a total surprise to me and I was stunned by -- but I was even more caught off guard that Aunt Laura arranged for Mom and Nene to be at the show. They took this picture of Mom with me on the big screen in the background and sent it to me as the show wound down, but I didn't look at my phone until after I walked off stage and saw them in person. I legitimately thought my mind was hallucinating because their presence didn't make sense. Hallucination or not, I collapsed into Mom's arms, completely emotionally and physically spent and relieved to have my person when I needed her.

I'm grateful they came, I'm grateful Laura made it happen without my finding out -- I would've stumbled on stage had I known they were there -- and I'm grateful Yiayia kept you both so they could be there. Today was an absolutely unexpected embarrassment of riches.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Unlike previous Summits when all we had to do Friday morning was pack up and head home, this year's Summit included programming on Friday through lunch. My body was so spent that I wasn't much good to anyone today. I'm ready to be home and able to relax.

This is the only photo I took today, from when Collin tried to re-close the Video Van door at 50 miles an hour. It didn't work. We had to pull over.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Tonight I emcee'd Garver Summit at The Midland Theatre in downtown Kansas City. I rehearsed over and over for the opening dance and I did really well in the one time I actually got to rehearse with my backup dancers, but during the actual show, I couldn't hear the music at all. After the show, the dancers told me it was the wrong song, so they were as confused as I was, but everyone said we pulled it off. I think they pulled it off and I looked scattered, but I got through it. Once that part of show was over, all of my nerves went away. I hit my lines, most of my jokes landed, and when things didn't go as planned, I was quick to cover the mistakes. People guffawed at the videos we showed them. I'm not sure I could have been more proud of the work the Video Team and I did for this thing over the last couple of months.

It was my largest audience to date (800ish) in a gorgeous venue and I loved every minute of it. I worked the crowd a little after the show and got lots of great feedback, but when the theatre kicked us out and everyone headed for the bars, I went to my room and collapsed. I didn't know how exhausted I was until I turned on Seinfeld to unwind and my legs began to throb. I couldn't make it through a single episode without closing my eyes.

Dad.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

Today was a long day of greeting Garver people coming into the hotel, revising the Summit script, and working through potential performance issues with Derek. I also went to dinner with the Water Team.

My role at the company is changing after Summit. And really it's been evolving over the last couple of years. But I'll be more focused on building and maintaining the company culture as the voice of Garver and a sort of companywide hype man. I'm excited about it.

Dad.

Kansas City, Missouri. 10.12.2022 - 11.26pm.

Dear Gus & Magnus,

You can't tell from the photo, but there are 300ish people in the room with me at Billy Bob's Texas Honky Tonk and another 600 watching Summit from a couple of venues in Little Rock and Kansas City. It was a strange year because we weren't all in one place and also because we were in a honky tonk. I feel like I spent all night trying to yell over the hum of the crowd. My voice was destroyed by the time the night was over.

Still fun, but nothing went like it was supposed to, which fills me with anxiety. I tried to watch the replay, but couldn't stomach it. So many missteps that couldn't be helped because of the venue, but also I wasn't rehearsed enough because we didn't have the time. I got a lot of positive feedback when it was all over, but I didn't feel like it was our year. I don't ever want to do a multi-city event again. I'm hoping for one city in a larger venue next year.

The after-party was solid, of course.

Dad.

Fort Worth, Texas. 10.7.2021 - 6.15pm(ish).

Dear Gus,

Not having a live audience was weird, and I flubbed a few more lines than I wanted to, but the event was a lot of fun. As soon as the show started, I got blown up with texts and emails from people who were loving the show. People were at watch parties across the company footprint. One office even had FatHeads made of me, Brock, and Michael. The biggest hits were the videos we’ve made over the last couple of months and the cameos. To announce the winners of the Garvy Awards, we got cameo videos from Carole Baskin, Emmitt Smith, Bob Stoops, Mike Leach, David Koechner, and Kate Flannery. I cannot wait to watch the playback. This is my seventh Garver Summit and it looks way different than my first, which didn’t even register on this blog. 

Afterward, we all went out to celebrate. Dinner, then we bar-hopped around town. I’m still not drinking, so I ended up drinking coffee around 11pm or so, which kept me up until 2am. I’m looking forward to coming home tomorrow. I miss you and Mom. And I’m tired.

Dad.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 10.22.2020. - 2.50(ish)pm.

Dear Gus,

We had rehearsal this afternoon and tonight for GarverSummit2020. We’ve set up the stage at the new contemporary arts museum and it’s legit--Derek has done a great job. I’m MC’ing the show with Brock and Michael. I’ve been nervous about it because I knew there wouldn’t be a live audience, but after rehearsals, I felt a lot better. Brock and Michael left at 6.15pm, but I came back after dinner and rehearsed my lines again while the production team worked on their A/V cues. Tomorrow’s going to be great. 

Dad.

Dear Gus,

You got up multiple times last night and I kept taking you back to bed, so I was exhausted this morning at 6.15 when you whispered into my ear, “Dad, don’t you want some breakfast?” 

We drove to Nene’s and ate biscuits and honey on the porch and played for a few hours. Then I dropped you at Yiayia & Papou’s so I could go help Derek and the rest of the crew putting Summit together. We’re four days away and have so much to do. Since we came straight from Beebe, I had Suki with me, so I brought her to the warehouse with me. She enjoyed hanging out and keeping an eye on things.

Dad.