The man with the hardest job, and the one who did it the best.You would think that his wife, Jill, had the hardest job (have you seen how Fegersheim plans?), but I would have to say Chris had the hardest. Although there were others who did not have a 40 hour job to keep them busy, while their spouse worked on GBIP for 60 hours; I always felt that Chris had the most difficult challenge. Not only because he was new to the career on hold thing, but also because he did not have the 5000 hobbies with accompanying sporting equipment from REI - you know who you are.
You throw in a couple of dinners with fellow GBIPers who have a natural tendency to talk about . . . well, GBIP, and an apartment that was 180 degrees different "style" than his (see Lesson 8); you can get an idea of the challenge. And for all those out there who think not working for 18 months in France would be the easiest job in the World, you would find that it is one of the great ironies of life - you can only go down the wine route so many times.
So when I think of Chris, I will remember that hideous vase with its associated lace doylies, and a mental image I have of him eating lunch with the women from Americans in Alsace (think Carmel housewives on steroids). Most importantly I will remember how much Patrick (and I) enjoyed just having a beer at a local bar with him - I figure Patrick is a pretty good judge of character.
