It’s Easter weekend and Good Friday. As I reflect on the past, 2006 saw us living in Decatur, Illinois. We bought a home on Lake Decatur that was previously owned by the Andreas family that owned Archer Daniels Midland. In fact, the basement had a direct communications system to the corporate offices for work-at-home situations. The company brokered the first deal on wheat trade between the U.S. and Russia and was the subject of a Federal Investigation into price fixing and became the book and movie, The Informant, starring Matt Damon, who we got to meet during filming.  I thought it was cool that Leonid Brezhnev had once visited our home, but the property was cursed for resale after ADM moved their corporate offices to Chicago and a glut of executive homes sat on the market for years. Selling that home was one of the greatest hassles of my life in a costly sense.

ADM was also responsible for the unpleasant odor that plagued the city, as I can recall saying “it stinks here!” I remember another businessman replying, “Oh, that’s the smell of money!” It was like the story about the Emperor’s Clothes, where no one wanted to admit that there was an embarrassing problem. I left there with a real estate albatross and without a job, so the memories of my time there weren’t all good. We did, however, make many good friends, most of which moved away once they got the chance. My wife and I may pass through there again this summer on our trip up to the Grand Hotel, to see those that are left behind. 

One of my early friends from grade school and his wife are coming for the night. We met them for lunch about a month ago down in Ft. Myers after several years of separation. He lives in lower Michigan now, but owned a body shop in our home town of Elkhart, Indiana. They winter at Marco Island, and are stopping by on their way out of Florida. We’ll get a chance to catch-up further on a friendship that’s approaching 60-years. It will be a Good Friday!