"Going to Carolina in my mind...."

That song makes me think of him. And I love James Taylor, anyhow.

South Carolina was chatty today. "You know what I was thinking of this morning," he asked today, when he IMed me. "The next conference is only ten months away." He's referring to the one where we got together.

"I wish it was sooner," I said.
"St. Louis will be so fun," he said.

"Are you going to others this year," I asked. He named a couple, but one in particular is huge and an industry must. I've never been to it, but have been selling the idea to my boss.

"It's expensive this year," he said. "It's in New Orleans and everything is expensive there. The rooms are $185 a night."

Whoa. That's steep. I don't know if I can sell that expense to my boss, at our little college with my little travel budget. He looked around for hotel alternatives, but the lowest was $160 a night, and then you have to rent a car, drive, and park at the conference hotel. The cost doesn't improve.

"How sure are you that you're going," he asked. I said I wasn't sure. I still have to sell it to my boss. I thought about this question a moment too late, and missed a chance to ask why he wanted to know.

"New Orleans is a crazy place," he said.

"I've heard it can be fun, but you gotta be careful," I said. I've heard a lot of stories....

"It can be very unsafe," he said. "Particularly the French Quarter." The hotel overlooks the French Quarter.

"That's what I've heard. It's not someplace I'd like to venture to on my own," I said.

"No...definitely not," he said. "I carried my tazer with me last time."

"Really?" For some reason, the image of this peaceful man carrying a tazer was a surprise to me.

"Fits nicely in the pocket," he said.

"Yes, I've seen them," I said. I didn't add that my friend used one to light cigarettes in college. "I don't have one, but might need to look into that if I manage to go."

I paused. He wasn't responding. "Or I'll just stick close to you."

"That'll work," he said.

"Good," I said. "I feel safer already!"

And he cyber-laughed.

So, it was a small conversation, but interesting to me. Correct me if I'm wrong, dear diary, but sounds like he wouldn't mind seeing me in April. Now, I just need an offering to the Travel Budget Gods to make it happen.