John Stanko

I am in Seattle for the week and it's cold! I went to the Lakers and Sonics NBA game last night and, when I came out of the arena, there was snow on the ground. When I came out to my car at 6 AM this morning, it was iced over! Today, however, is bright and sunny but cold, but that can change quickly.

I like Seattle, and I am here to visit with The Pacific Institute and visit with some other friends and associates. I could not resist the chance to see Kobe Bryant play last night and I was not disappointed. He scored 48 points and had the game-winning basket in overtime with 4.8 seconds left. It wasn't a well-played game, but it was exciting to the end. You can't ask for much more than that in the NBA.

I was reflecting last night on how many games I have seen in my lifetime and some of the great players I got to see in person. Among them are Wilt Chamberlin, Shaquille O'Neal, Larry Bird, Dr. J., Kareem Abdul Jabbar, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, George Gervin, Tim Duncan, and Dwayne Wade, just to name a few. (Michael Jordan was injured the night I went to see him play.) I have seen live NBA games in New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington DC, Miami, Seattle, Cleveland, Dallas, Toronto, Orlando, Chicago and Los Angeles. My favorite team is the Boston Celtics, but I haven't been to a game in Boston -- yet!

Right now I am sitting in a Tully's coffee shop, one of the big-three coffee outlets in Seattle. Starbucks and Seattle's Best are the other two. Their server is down, so I can't access the Internet here as I usually do, which is a bit of a pain. From here, I have appointments all day. I have a new Tom Tom navigator system, which has been a great help as I travel. It uses satellite technology to get me where I need to go and it is accurate and reliable. It makes driving fun.

So that's all for today from Seattle. I'll keep you posted on any new adventures while I am here in the Pacific Northwest.