They Don't Write Songs About Volvos

57 Studebaker Silver Hawk

I am a “car guy”, sort of. I have always loved cars. My parents used to tell stories about me at age 3 sitting in the back of their 47 Dodge naming every car that went by. There’s a Plymouth, a Hudson, a DeSoto and so on.


Bob Lutz is a real car guy. In his new book, Car Guys vs. Bean Counters, he contends that MBAs and finance guys have stolen the soul of the Big Three auto manufacturers as well as most of the big corporations in America. Lutz has worked for all of the Big Three and BMW. He was coaxed out of retirement in 2001 by then GM Chairman and CEO, Rick Wagoner, because the company needed someone who understood how to build great cars. Lutz was behind the resurgence of Cadillac and Buick and championed the Chevy Volt from the original concept in 2005 to its production, starting last year.

Lutz describes how the cars we lust after – the great classics of the 50s and 60s – were built during an era when designers and engineers were the prime movers at GM. He reminds us of the beautiful cars from GM’s design studio – the Chevy’s of 55 and 57, the Pontiac GTO, the early Corvettes and the classic Cadillac designs. Focus groups would never have come up with these designs and the finance guys would never allow such expensive treatments as big fins and chrome embellishments.

My first car was a 57 Studebaker Silver Hawk. It had a hole in the floorboard and a dented trunk lid but it ran a 289 V-8, same as the Mustangs of that era, and only cost me $100. Best of all, it was mine! This was an era when rock songs referred to cars as part of the popular culture. When the Beach Boys sang “SHE’S SO FINE, MY 4-OH-9”, everyone knew they were talking about a Chevy Impala with a 409 cubic inch engine. The kids at school nicknamed my car the Batmobile because its fins reminded us of the car on the cult TV show starring Adam West. Or, maybe it was because I drove like a bat out of hell. I don’t know.

I do know that the design came out of the Raymond Loewy design studio and is beautiful enough to have a cult following today. Maybe Lutz is onto something.

By the mid-70s, GM’s culture was starting to shift. No longer would the design studio drive product decisions nor would engineering be a prime mover. By the 80s, it was all about numbers and focus groups. So, GM produced a series of forgettable cars for a generation.

79 Camaro

My first GM car was a 79 Camaro. It ran a small block 305 V8. It was blue with a black interior and was a great boulevard cruiser. When I became a daily commuter in New Jersey, I traded it for a VW Rabbit which got great gas mileage and held more stuff.

Lutz was brought back to GM to help change the culture as much as anything else. During the generation in which engineers and designers were marginalized, Vehicle Line Executives (VLE’s) became the decision makers. They were bonused on meeting quantitative measures of cost and specifications developed from focus groups. There were standards for wheel clearance and windshield height. Each car had to respond a certain way when you drove over a bump. The results were cars like the Pontiac Aztec and the Chevy Impala which met the standards but looked like each section of it was developed by a different committee. Any wonder no one wanted them?

The pronouncement that brand identities must be developed for each model led to all Chevys having a horizontal chrome bar through the grille and each Pontiac having body cladding glued to the side. It didn’t matter if it was ugly, it met the standard. The VLE got to check it off his list and be eligible for his or her bonus. Changing an entrenched culture like this in a global corporation is a monumental task.

But, while his book was primarily about the evolution of GM in the last decade, the sub-text was about LEADERSHIP.

The first lesson? Courage. If you know your product, your market and your business, you should have the courage to follow through on your vision. During the 50s, Cadillac was the premier automotive brand in the world. The phrase “it’s the Cadillac of…..” was a popular phrase, meaning it’s the best of a category. By the turn of the century, Cadillac was an aging brand whose target customer base was literally dying. It had lost its 50s brand image – a high fashion, great performing vehicle whose engines were transplanted into race cars. Chuck Berry sang, “CADILLAC DOING ABOUT 95 IT WAS BUMPER TO BUMPER SIDE TO SIDE” in the hit song, Maybelline. It was a great time for GM.

For the 21st Century, Lutz decided Cadillac should take on BMW. How’s that for courage? The Cadillac CTS brought edgy styling, V8 power and rear wheel drive to a car which was exactly the same size as a BMW 5-Series. GM could have tested their new model at their Michigan proving grounds; however, they chose to test it at Germany’s famed Nuerburgring where it promptly set lap times better than its targeted competitor. A bold move? Sure. But the automotive press picked it up and the car has been a rousing success. This week, Cadillac announced a new model, the ATS, aimed at BMWs best selling 3-series. Cadillac executives didn’t mince words, saying the car would be new from the ground up and focused on performance.



My 190SL



Next, communication. You need to relentlessly communicate your vision to the troops. They want it, they love it, and they want to be included. Lutz was in charge of product planning during his recent stint with GM. He had no authority over engineering, marketing or manufacturing. He had to convince not only the company’s CEO but also the various committees involved creating new products of his vision.

Last, but certainly not least, find likeminded people, support them and shine a light on them. In the end, it will be the folks on the front lines that will get the job done for you.

Lutz book really made me want to root for GM. The author is an ex-Marine fighter pilot who carried his combat instincts over to a career he loved.

Still, I am a foreign car guy. I have owned 3 Mercedes, 2 Audi’s, 2 BMWs, an Acura and a Lexus. Indeed, my first love was a 62 Mercedes 190SL. I got to spend some time with another car guy, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson, a couple of years ago. It turns out his first car was a 190SL. We commiserated on how difficult it was to keep its duel carburetors synchronized among other things. It was a great day for a car guy.
What about you? What was your first car?

What About the 100th Anniversary?

Like most of you, I found myself glued to the TV on Sunday morning, watching coverage of the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Reliving the shock and grief seemed like a responsibility. I was required to watch it, to remember. The sight of the memorial, so powerfully designed and executed, and the backdrop of a new tower rising from the ashes caused the emotions of 10 years ago to well up inside me again.


I remember taking a business trip shortly after the beginning of the Iraq war and being seated next to a contemporary, a retired Army Colonel who worked for a defense contractor. He and I had much to talk about and found ourselves making the same rationalization. It went something like this: no, there weren’t any WMDs but we won’t know the true impact of our military venture for quite some time. The real reason for the attack was to create a democratic government in the Middle East to serve as a model – to prove it could be done. To prove that free societies could exist in the Islamic world. It would take quite some time to see if it would work. A generation or more.

That was our rationalization. Our way of being supportive to our country and our troops.

I opposed the war from its conception. It made no strategic sense to me. To understand why, you have to remember your geography lessons and mix in a little macroeconomic analysis. The United States is blessed by the most favorable geography in the world. We are the only nation with long seacoasts and navigable seaports on both the Atlantic and Pacific. You see, much like the global economy of 400 years ago, it is still cheaper to move goods by sea than by any other method.

Our geography also favors food production beyond the capacity of any other nation. That, coupled with our long navigable rivers to bring products to the seaports made us an exporting giant from the mid to late 19th Century onward. Expressed in financial terms, because of our natural infrastructure, investment in the U.S. provides a higher return than any other nation.

Okay, let’s shift from our geography lessons to our history lessons. From the presidency of George Washington to that of JFK, the U.S. made a series of strategic moves to consolidate and secure its economic future.

From Washington’s signing of "Jay's Treaty" which was highly unpopular (and which I wrote about in a blog post titled "Let's Put the Washington Back in DC") to the Louisiana Purchase, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish American War and WW II, we fought to secure our sea lanes. These gains were further consolidated by the post-war institutions set up by Truman and Eisenhower (the UN, NATO, SEATO et al.) and defended without a shot being fired during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

The result? Today, the US Navy controls every sea lane in the world. We take it for granted. But many Americans died to establish this awesome sea power and many politicians and presidents put their country ahead of self-interest to create it.

Which brings me back to Iraq. There are only two other geographic ranges with the potential to compete with the U.S. One is the plain that stretches from France to Russia. And, the other, in the Middle East and Southern Asia, stretches from the Mediterranean to the Himalaya Mountain range.

Ever wonder why there have been so many wars fought by Germany against northern European competitors? It’s because there are no natural boundaries between France, Germany, Poland and Russia. Southern Europe has numerous mountain ranges and rivers. And, less history of warfare as a result.

The partitioning of the Middle East, primarily achieved by the British between the two world wars, was designed to establish dictatorships that would serve our interests – oil exports. It has always been in our interest to have internecine competition between the larger Middle Eastern states. Why? Because a consolidation of all those countries coupled with their oil wealth could create a serious strategic competitor to the U.S.

Which brings me back to Iraq. Saddam Hussein’s government served as a wedge between Iran and its sympathetic allies to the west of Iraq, mainly Syria which has great influence over Lebanon. His removal, coupled with the installation of a democratically elected government in Iraq, enabled by and legitimized by the U.S., has provided Iran with an opportunity.

Iran has developed security and trade relationships with not only Iraq but also with Syria and Turkey. Turkey? Aren’t they a U.S. ally and NATO member? Yes. But, they are also an emerging economic power whose rejection by the European Union has caused it to look eastward for trade relationships. Toward Iran and, of course, China. And, they have an Islamic democratically elected government.

Against this backdrop, we are pulling out of not only Iraq but also Afghanistan. The decision to leave only a few thousand troops in Iraq coupled with our timetable to get out of Afghanistan will provide Iran with the opportunity to consolidate its power from Lebanon to Pakistan, creating a strategic competitor for decades if not centuries to come. The Pakistani’s, our ally in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, are not likely to be our allies post-war. Indeed, NPR Reports that elements within Pakistan’s security force favor the reinstallation of the Taliban in Afghanistan to stabilize that country.

Back in the US, there is little patience left to support our land wars in Asia. And, in Washington, the pressure to reduce the deficit will take its toll on our military capability. What’s worse is that, despite our natural advantages, investment capital is flowing out of the U.S. not into it. How can this be so?
US multi-nationals are incentivized by our tax code to invest their money overseas. Manufacturers with high tech operations in the US can’t find workers with the math aptitude to fill jobs despite our 9% unemployment rate. And, our political system is mired in partisan fighting rather than finding solutions.

Why? US multi-nationals are incentivized by our tax code to invest their money overseas. Manufacturers with high tech operations in the US can’t find workers with the math aptitude to fill jobs despite our 9% unemployment rate. And, our political system is mired in partisan fighting rather than finding solutions.


Before turning off the TV on Sunday morning, I watched an excerpt of a Tom Hanks narrated documentary, BOATLIFT, a 9/11 Tale of Resilience. Americans pulled together on that day. Many, who were safe in another part of New York, participated in a heroic effort to save their countrymen without regard to their own safety. Hanks’ narration compares the event to another famous boatlift when British and French citizens were rescued from Dunkirk. It was on that occasion that Winston Churchill delivered his famous speech declaring that “this was their finest hour”.

Has our hour passed? Can we pull together? WHO WILL LEAD?

Hurricane Aristotle

Hurricane Irene off the coast of Florida

"We Survived Hurricane Frances". That was the title of my journal (posted HERE), cataloging our experience in my pre-blogger days. It was 2004 and it was the first hurricane of substance in our Florida experience. I sent my journal to friends and colleagues by email until the power went out. Some thought it was hysterical. Others were unmoved.

As for us, we were scared. Frances was a Category 2 storm bearing down on us. It made landfall 20 miles from our house.

We had plans to leave on vacation that week but stayed to make sure my parents were okay. We moved them into our house because we knew it would be safer. You see, our house was built after 1992’s Hurricane Andrew and theirs wasn’t. Homes built to the post-Andrew standard could easily withstand the winds of Frances.

I was thinking of this as I received messages, read Facebook postings and watched news footage of Hurricane Irene’s destruction this past week. Folks in the northeast – particularly those of the inland communities – simply weren’t ready for what happened.

Amid this news, I listened to Larry Kudlow interview with Texas Congressman and presidential candidate, Ron Paul. Rep. Paul is as pure a libertarian as any politician I know of. If you have never studied the philosophy of libertarianism or read the works of its patron saint, Emmanuel Kant, you need only follow Paul’s presidential campaign to learn about it.

In the considered opinion of Rep. Paul, people make conscious choices about where they live – either implicitly or explicitly assuming the associated risks. If you want to live on the beach in Florida or in a flood plain along a river bank, you should not expect the rest of the taxpayers to insure your risk when the private market won’t.

Main St. in Prattsville, post-Irene

Tell that to the citizens of Prattsville, NY. Hurricane Irene completely destroyed every building on Main Street. It is highly unlikely that the city will survive without financial assistance from outside sources. Did the good people of Prattsville make a conscious choice to assume the risk of this outcome? Some might have; but, I doubt it. Most news reports featured long time or lifelong residents. Whether they had considered the risk or hadn’t, should we, as taxpayers, bail them out of their trouble? That is the philosophical question posed by the current debate about funding FEMA in Washington.

Libertarians, like Ron Paul, would say no. John Rawls, a political philosopher of the 20th Century, offers a different approach. In “A Theory of Justice” (1971), he theorizes that if citizens were to write a social contract expressing principles to which the majority agrees, we would not be a libertarian society. But, there is a twist to Rawls’ approach. He asks that we assume we all start from an equal position. No one has an economic, social or educational advantage. He reasoned that from this position, most people would choose a more risk averse course. Rawls concludes that we would agree on a social contract that guarantees basic liberties (speech, religion, etc.) and economic justice. He believed we would choose a system where the most well off would insure the basic needs of the least well off members of society.

Hah! Tell that to Ron Paul and his followers.

Anyone who buys my house (and, here’s hoping somebody will someday), will pay for the security of Florida’s building standards. We weren’t sweating Hurricane Irene when it was aimed at Florida. We knew we could withstand the storm. (Don’t get me wrong. We weren’t looking forward to it either.) That additional cost is built into our social contract with the state and its homebuilders. And, I haven’t heard anyone complain about it. In a purely libertarian state, we would all be left to negotiate the degree of hurricane proof-ness with our builder.

So, what is Congress up to while the folks in Prattsville are contemplating their future? Well, the Republicans are not willing to de-fang FEMA – not after the spectacle of Katrina undermined President Bush’s credibility. But, they are willing to trade additional funding for FEMA for funds now going to liberal programs they don’t like, such as subsidies to the alternative energy industry.

Sounds like business as usual.

There are various approaches to government (including the utilitarian philosophy of John Stuart Mill which I won’t go into here). They have their intellectual roots in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries and form the basis of the current debate about how we should govern ourselves.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle believed that the principles by which society should be governed should be the result of reasoned debate among the elite. The core of his logic was that reasonable, intelligent people should decide what virtues it should honor and reward and what should be punished. This should be a fluid and ongoing process, Aristotle would say.

Isn’t that what our legislatures are supposed to do?

This is just one example of the unreasonable lack of reason being applied to the nation’s problems. I wouldn’t expect the Congress to debate Kant vs. Rawls. But, shouldn’t they be having a reasoned debate as opposed to posturing, conniving and threatening.

Meanwhile the Bully Pulpit – used so effectively by the last two presidents, Bush and Clinton – seems to have been ceded to the last two Speakers of the House, Boehner and Pelosi.

It makes you wonder….

WHO WILL LEAD?

WE SURVIVED HURRICANE FRANCES

Thursday, September 2, 2004; a hurricane warning is posted for Palm Beach County at 11 AM. Twenty-four hours to go. We never planned to stay through the storm. We had planned our annual getaway to Canandaigua Lake in upstate NY months in advance. It was to have been our first time visiting Suzanne’s family since her mother passed away; and, an old school chum had promised me a round at Oak Hill, site of last year’s PGA Championship. But, my aging parents refused to get on a plane to stay with my brother in Atlanta; and, we couldn’t leave them behind.

Noon: I leave the office to pick up Mom and Dad. They are packed and ready to go. We bring along some extra food and a couple of bottles of water. By 2 PM we are all ensconced in our house in Palm Beach Gardens ready for the worst that Frances can offer. Here are some pictures of our humble little bungalow before the storm hits.

3PM: I go to find gasoline to fill up my tank. I wait in line for 45 minutes only to have the owner cut off the pumps as soon as I get to the head of the line. Out of gas. What year is this? 1974? I get some gas elsewhere and go on the search for more ice and batteries. No luck. Suzanne goes to the supermarket for some last minute supplies. With her basket full and heading for the checkout, a fire alarm goes off and the fire marshal orders everyone to leave. One of the neighbor’s trees fell in our direction, its branches resting on our roof.

4 PM; I am connected to my company’s VPN catching up on email. After all, our offices in Orlando and around the world aren’t closed and I am no slacker.

7 PM; Suzanne serves up a chicken dinner and cooks all the chicken we can find. This will go on ice when we lose power. We have power, water, phone… everything we need. I close the hurricane shutters when it gets dark…. Still waiting.

Friday, September 3, 2004, 7 AM; Frances is taking its sweet time. She is stalled off the coast of Palm Beach and whipping us with wind and rain. The new forecast says we are still at least twenty four hours away. The storm is a Category 3; sustained winds of 125 MPH. I open some of the shutters to let in some light.

9 AM; Dad and I head back to his house to pick up more food, another change of clothes and all the ice we can find. No one is on the highway; they all left town the day before. That’s what we should have done.

The day is uneventful. I putter around on the Internet. Mom and Dad watch TV. Suzanne does as much laundry as she can. Then she makes a meatloaf.

We decide if we are going to lose power, we should cool the house down as much as possible. By dinner, we are all walking around in long pants and sweaters complaining about how cold we are. Alliterative headline:

Florida Foursome Freezes during Frances

Saturday, September 4; we should be on a plane. But, tropical storm winds have cancelled all the flights. I call the resort, the airlines and the rental car company to roll everything forward one week. The power flickers on and off during one of the calls and I lose contact with US Airways.

I go out to the garage to find a phone that connects with wires. I find a splitter and connect it in parallel with the cordless phone that everyone still prefers to use.

11 AM; The cable goes out taking the Internet with it. We retrieve a 12 inch TV from a closet somewhere because it has rabbit ears. There are only two local channels coming through on VHF – all hurricane all the time. But, Frances isn’t moving so there is no news really. After lunch, we watch a rented movie on DVD; Mona Lisa Smile with Julia Roberts. We recommend it if you like old fashioned movies with happy endings (which we do).

6 PM: Suzanne cooks up some Pasta Fagioli. Molto Bene!!! This may go down as one of history’s famous last meals. (A little gallows humor.)

We close up the shutters and watch a video of Raiders of the Lost Ark (from the archives). I can remember every scene and most of the lines. How many times have I seen this movie anyway?

10:30 PM; we lose power just as all the Nazis are being melted by supernatural laser beams in the final scene. We decide to go to bed.

Sunday, September 5; 1 AM; Frances makes landfall at Sewall’s Point, 20 miles north of us. At 1:30, the southwestern edge of the eyewall hits us. We both sit bolt upright in bed. It sounds and feels like a fast moving freight train is barreling down a track between us and our next door neighbor.

We try to sleep to no avail. About an hour later, we hear water trickling. Is it inside or outside? We get up to investigate with our flashlights. No evidence of leakage.

Our house was built after 1997, when the last post-Hurricane Andrew upgrade to the building codes was passed. No overhangs on the roofs; hurricane straps in the attics and hurricane shutters cover all the windows and doors. It’s dark but safe.

We fall asleep as the eye of the storm passes over us.

6:30 AM; the eastern edge of the eyewall hits and we awake again. This time we get up to make some coffee and wait it out. Our gas stove still works. So, I boil some water and pour it through the basket in the electric drip coffee maker. We make eggs for breakfast since we know they won’t last.

We dump all the ice from the freezer into coolers and empty what we think may survive on the ice. Dad and I polish off the ice cream. (I mean you can throw the hamburger into the cooler; but, you know the ice cream is a goner.) It’s kind of slushy; like spring skiing.

Suzanne digs up a Sony Watchman I received as a going away gift from some job or another. I never use it but keep it because it’s kind of cool. It operates on 4 AA batteries and has a 1-½ inch TV screen. The shutters are still up and storm is still raging so this is our link to the outside world.

Mom and I play gin rummy by candlelight. It’s getting a little warm in here. Dad and Suzanne take turns watching the baby TV. NBC’s Al Roker has survived in his ocean abode and is telling his story. We switch to the CBS affiliate. It is truly bizarre to be watching TV to find out what is going on right outside your door.

The TV guys all say it’s not yet safe out there. They have the video to prove it. Miraculously, they say, no one died as a result of the storm despite the fact that every inch of the state was affected. Two people have died because when they lost power, they ran their gas-powered generators indoors. Official cause of death: asphyxiation; unofficial cause: stupidity.

11 AM; we are losing water pressure and the local health authorities have issued a boil water order due to potential contamination from sewage. We had filled both bathtubs with water the day before so we could flush the toilets and have 6 one gallon jugs; 12 one liter bottles and 5 dozen 20 oz bottles of drinking water. Suzanne was smart to fill up every pot in the house with tap water the day before.

Once the news reports get repetitious, we switch to the other channel. Al Roker is still at it. Boy, that guy talks a lot.

Noon, we boil all the remaining eggs in the house and make egg salad for lunch. Suzanne adds a little mustard, some paprika and some secret ingredient. It’s another great meal. The local news says the storm should clear by 2 or 3 PM. Al Roker is still talking and I wonder if I should hire someone to assassinate him.

All four of us play scrabble to pass the time. Suzanne wins.

3:30 PM; I remove the storm post from behind the garage door and we go outside.

DAYLIGHT!!!

A quick stroll around the house reveals little or no damage, although we later discover some roof tiles missing. The screens I heard whipping in the wind were the neighbors’. We lost three trees, one of which fell on the A/C tilting the water filtration system in the process.

I spend the rest of the afternoon cutting branches and piling them at the curb.  Dad worries about what he will find when he returns home.  The weatherman says tomorrow will bring seasonal weather.  That’s good/bad news.  Nothing that will destroy your house; but, nothing you want to live through without A/C.

6 PM; the leftover pizza that was in the freezer has completely thawed out.  Suzanne invents stovetop pizza. 

Modern gas stoves have electric controls.  In a power outage, the burners work by lighting a match but the oven shuts down.  Presumably, this is to forestall lawsuits from the families of people who blow themselves up trying to manually light the oven.  Don’t laugh.  I knew someone this happened to. 

At nightfall, Mom and Suzanne play Scrabble again by candlelight.  Dad and I enjoy the cool breeze.  It’s cool and moist – like an ocean breeze on your winter vacation.  The tail end of Frances is out there somewhere bringing occasional rain and high winds (40 to 50 MPH).   But, the breeze feels so good I decide to leave the shutters open. 

Monday, September 6; cold cereal with bananas for breakfast. The milk is still good. After breakfast, we load Mom and Dad in the car and take them back to Boynton Beach. No damage to their house. Lots of fallen branches and much good luck. They decide to move back in.

We go home to finish the clean up. Lunch is whatever is still not spoiled in the fridge.

2 PM; we are outside working in the yard when the sky opens up drenching us and causing puddles to form inside each of our open windows.

6 PM; we grill the remaining chicken for dinner then play another game of scrabble. We check in on the baby TV; CBS has returned to regular programming. We watch Two and Half Men and go to bed. I sleep like a log despite the heat and humidity. A day of manual labor will do that for you.

Tuesday; September 7; the local news says that the National Guard is distributing ice, water and non-perishable food at a nearby distribution center. We polish off our coffee and head over. We arrive at 7:28 AM, second in line for an 8 AM opening. The supply truck doesn’t show up till 9 but we are glad to wait in our air-conditioned car. At the head of the line, we get ice only. But, that was all we needed.

After breakfast (instant oatmeal), I shower and get dressed for work. I tell Suzanne that if the office is closed, I am heading for the airport to get a flight out of here tomorrow. It is and I do. Canandaigua Lake here we come and Hurricane Ivan be damned.

Noon; I make myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.

In the end, all that happened was that we lost a few trees that God didn’t put there in the first place. We were uncomfortable for a few days but it was nothing like the suffering of people who lost their homes a few miles north or in countless other natural disasters from the Northridge quake to the Mississippi floods to our own Hurricane Charley a few weeks ago.

But, it was an experience we’ll never forget. And, the next time we’ll be out of town before the storm arrives. If the house does fall down, I don’t want to be in it.

---  John Calia, September 8, 2004

Epilogue. Our Noon flight on Wednesday was delayed on the ground because Air Force One was on its way in and no one can be in the air when W is. Of course, our attitude is that unless he can fix the power grid, he should go back home and stay there (and by home, I mean Texas). The delay causes us to have fifteen minutes to make our connecting flight in DC. We sprint. We have to change terminals causing us to go through Security again. We arrive at our gate with 5 minutes to spare.

The flight to Rochester is cancelled due to mechanical problems. US Airways wants to put us on a flight to Buffalo and give us cab fare to the Rochester airport. (No wonder these guys are bankrupt again!) We opt for a later flight to Syracuse so that we have a shorter drive to the lake. It was not a fun drive. Unfamiliar with the roads and driving at night, we drove through a pouring rain – which, as it turns out, was the remnants of Frances.

This was followed by 7 straight days of perfect late summer, early fall weather which we enjoyed immensely.