So yes, we had class on Saturday. The day started with the remaining discussions of the Federalist Papers (it was kinda dry to have them read to us, but a great topic none the less). The discussions were all surrounding our founding fathers thoughts when they framed, and then tried to ratify the Constitution. The papers were actually a marketing piece put together to try and get New York to ratify the Constitution. It worked! Before heading out for a field trip, we had another class teaching politics in the federal government. The class flew by. As you might imagine, everyone had thoughts on politics. The resulting conversations made the class just fly by!
Noon brought lunch, and then we caught the "Yankee" buses for guided tours of Lexington (remember the shot heard around the world?). The minute men hadn't aged well, but were VERY good.
We got a great history lesson by these *ahem* young minute men, and then jumped back in the Yankee bus for a guided trip to Concord where we were met by the local historian, and our professor, Steve Keller. Steve had the best stories, and took us to Minuteman State Park and Walden Pond. We got a in a bit of hot water at Walden Pond because the snow limited the parkability of those big busses. It was actually kinda funny. When accosted by the short rotund woman in brown, who needed to know who to write the ticket to, he gave another professor's name (Pete Zimmerman). She was happy. We were allowed to leave. Concord was great. Below are two pictures of the monument. The park was covered in heavy melting snow making walking on the trails wet and muddy. Many of my classmates were wearing sneakers, so we didn't go far.
Dinner was at the Colonial Inn.. This is actually the original home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, but obviously dated before him. The Colonial Inn has been operational for over 300 years, and was one of the prime meeting places in Concord, MA. I think the waiter lived through the entire thing, but in the end, it turned out he'd only been with the Inn for 20 years. Regardless, he had the history lesson down pat and kept the wine flowing freely. After dinner several of us retired to the front porch for cigars before getting back on the Yankee Bus for our trip back to Soldiers Field.
Tomorrow brings our first day of negotiation class. I'm here to tell you folks, if you ever get the opportunity to come to SEF, DON'T turn it down. These guys know how do it right. This is the best training I've ever had!
Jeff
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