Weekend Words: Deja vu All Over Again

        I recently attended McShea’s top producers dinner at a fine restaurant in Frederick, The Tasting Room. It was truly a five-star dining experience, and I enjoyed it immensely. But as I ate my mouth-watering filet I was reminded of what the special dining treat had been when I was growing up: a yearly trip to McDonalds, where my brother and sisters and I each got our own sandwich but had to split up the French fries.

 

       One year my uncle Jack, founder of McShea and Company, coached his sons’ little league baseball team to victory in the championship game. I was in the stands watching, and he invited me to join the team for their post-game celebration. Uncle Jack treated the entire group to Roy Rodgers, which at the time was basically Ruth’s Chris to me! I can’t tell you how thrilled we all were. 

       I brought up my memories to the table, and everyone laughed and nodded. My cousin Jack Jr. commented how big a deal it had been when he was a kid that Uncle Jack would take their family to Hot Shoppes after church on Sundays. All these years later, eating at one of the nicest restaurants I have ever been to, and we still remembered how special these simple treats were to us when we were kids. And there we were, gathered around the table with Uncle Jack once again, celebrating another win. As Yogi Berra would say, it was “déjà vu all over again.” 

       As the night wound down my cousins Tim and Jack Jr. reminisced about their lack of success at competitive swimming when they were kids. They were always better than I was at baseball, but swimming had been my game. I wondered if that would come up. Suddenly Uncle Jack looked over at me from the head of the table and said, “Now there was a swimmer – he broke a county record when he was 8 years old!” Everyone at the table turned and looked my way. Over two billion dollars of real estate transactions had been completed by the people at this table, but none of that seemed to matter. In that moment I was more proud of my swim record from more than 40 years ago. And more importantly, I was proud that my Uncle Jack had acknowledged it. 

      A perfect way to end a truly special evening. Thanks again, Uncle Jack.

Have a great weekend,

Ro