THE LOOP
Nery

Story Time With Nery

Eyes filled with excitement; as we drive past the poorly constructed barrier, meant to keep intruders out. It was late spring, so the immense white blanket covering all that was visible was a surprise. 
We had heard of this place, rumors mostly. Iron Mountain, an abandoned ski resort ripe for exploration! Recruiting a partner in crime took little convincing and off we were, wandering the El Dorado National Forest. 
We hop out of the car, with little more than sweatshirts and vans, our curious minds getting the best of us. The snow, deep and unforgiving, quickly informed us that we were grossly ill prepared. As the cold continued to set in, we decided to head back. 
As the car began to move, the four wheel drive kept us confident, but the mountain was not done with us. SHUUSHCH, the car sinks into the cold white abyss. . . I step out to assess the damage. . . I lose my mind. 
I run through our supplies: sweatshirts, vans, shovel? Tire chains? No. We are stuck. Did I mention we lost phone signal about 30 miles earlier? I lose my mind a second time. 
In my panic, I ran to the abandoned lodge and proceeded to punch and kick wildly. Then my eyes, red with fear and anger, spot a 2x4. The perfect tool to continue my path of destruction. I paused, letting the panic slowly drain from me. 
"This is our way out" I shout. I grabbed the piece of wood, with a newfound respect for it, and began to fashion what I can only describe as snowshoes for tires. 
Alas, Iron Mountain let us free with cold hands and feet and an interesting story. 
Matt

That caught up feeling...

Thank you guys so much for your hard work! These past couple weeks have been stressful, fun and nerve-wracking, but I wouldn't want to go through it with anybody else. Keep working hard, team - we are in the home stretch!

Happy Hump Day, Crusaders!

 

Marc

The Simple Things

Nowadays, it seems we are driven to celebrate and share virtually everything. When we have kids, we have a party celebrating their graduation from preschool and then kindergarten and then again from elementary school and then again from middle school and so on...Having two daughters, I always felt bad for the boys that had to come up with these elaborate routines for asking them to school dances, each one more complex than the other. When everything is considered that important, I wonder what is truly important.

 

My grandparents were married for over 60 years. They rarely left each other's side and they were truly best friends. People often asked me what their secret was and they always expected it to be some grand thing. I'll tell you the secret. It was a lifetime of simple things. Every morning, my grandpa would wake up early and go downstairs and wash my grandma's car. He knew that she loved to leave every day in a clean car and I'm sure it reminded her of him while she was driving. That was how they started each day and when they were together they were always near each other and often holding hands. Simple.

 

And yes, that car is the same one you all see my drive up in every day. It was my grandpa's before he passed and then my grandma's and then my dad's and my daughter drove it until the engine starting having trouble. I rebuilt that engine and even though I should probably sell it, I just love driving away in the morning in it. It reminds me of a simpler time and how important it is to pay attention to the simple things, as they are probably what builds to become the great things like my grandparent's marriage or this incredible company that we all work for.