Posts Tagged ‘global road safety’

To see a copy of my resolution, click here.

I need to get back into my routine.  It’s been a while since I’ve had a real routine.

Obviously, I didn’t update during Inauguration Day as planned.  Safe to say nothing went as planned that day, at least from a personal perspective.  Downtown DC was an absolute mess as far as security perimeters, and it literally took us 5 hours to get to our security gate and through it, just in time to get to our section, only to not have a view of the stage nor the jumbotron setup for our section, which was strategically placed behind two trees.  The only thing that actually went right was that Barack Obama was actually inaugurated President of the United States, and even though we went through hell and back to get there and not actually see it, the euphoria of being there was incredible, and all that effort was worth it.

That summed up what was a very nice weekend with my father, and it was special to be able to share that moment with him.  I also got to share it with my good friend Jeannie, a big Obama supporter who came up to DC for the inauguration with her friend Michelle.  While they stayed with me, I truly felt like I was sharing the moment with 1.8 million friends, and even though it was chaotic at best, it was an incredible moment and it is one I will share with my children and grandchildren and everyone I know until the day my body turns cold.

Following the inauguration and my guests leaving town, Chris made his debut in DC.  That involved playing tour guide, which was a lot of fun since I don’t really get a chance to get out to the museums and monuments unless people are here who want to see them, but after what was an incredibly long and tiring week, to then have another weekend of going out and walking miles around the city was exhausting.  I never fully recovered from the first event, and then the second, while fun, pushed me to my limits.  God I feel old just describing how it felt.  Nonetheless, it was fun, and it was also much needed bonding time for two long-time best friends.

Work has been a whirlwind.  We’ve been pretty much non-stop since the inauguration, and while nobody seems to be thrilled about the new economic stimulus package, I feel confident that it will have the desired impact.  Will it fix everything? No.  Will it do it quickly?  No.  Will it start to turn things around?  Absolutely.  You may think otherwise, but I believe history will prove me right, and only time will tell.

Outside of the stimulus, it seems a million and one things are going on.  Personally for me, my crusade to make the issue of global road safety is ramping up, and I’m excited about my progress.  You’re probably asking, what the hell is global road safety.  That’s what most people say.  I don’t have the energy after a long week to explain it all, but if you’re interested in learning, visit http//asirt.org and http://makeroadssafe.org.  That should give you some perspective.

My other big project at the moment is the Robert Levinson case.  Mr. Levinson is a constituent of Congressman Wexler’s from Coral Springs, Florida who has been missing in Iran for nearly two years.  A former FBI agent, he was allegedly investigating cigarette smuggling in Iran when he disappeared en route to the airport to come back to the United States.  He has not been seen or heard from since, and despite efforts by his family to trace him and seek assistance from the Iranian government to investigate his disappearance, nothing has come up.

Next Tuesday, my boss and Senator Bill Nelson of Florida will hold a press conference to discuss this case and will be introducing resolutions in both chambers of Congress urging the Obama Administration to open diplomatic channels with the Iranian government to address this issue, as well as urging the Iranian government to investigate Levinson’s disappearance and share its results.

This is a difficult case because there is so much mystery to it and, at least at this point, so few channels by which to investigate.  We are hopeful, however, that a new administration and a new diplomatic approach may break the silence on this issue and many others we must address with Iran.

All in all, I’m being kept pretty busy, and its great.  2009 has been a pretty good year so far personally, and while there are still some questions to be answered about where my future lies professionally, I am focusing on what is in front of me for now.  That’s the only way to bring about change and progress.

Oh, and I have twitter now!