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| Grandson Alexander agreed to pose in my Tilley hat, holding my walking stick. |
This is our schedule for monthly Saturday Morning Meetings at Walmart:
5 AM - I wake up and do some cleaning and coffee brewing.
6:30 - Pick up Little Ichabod at the Little Ichabode.
7:00 - Arrive at a Walmart location or the outdoor, tent-like AMP for the 8 AM meeting.
We arrive so early at the famous Saturday Morning Meetings that we often sit directly behind the celebrity guests, Walmart executives, or Walton family members.
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| LI did a hilarious imitation of Arnie discussing his early morning shopping trips at Walmart, during delays in filming. |
This Saturday, we had a row of reserved seats ahead of us, and some younger people sat there as special guests. LI wondered where they came from, so I asked. "We are interns at WM; we're in business school."
The young intern wanted to know about LI's job and mine. She looked at me and asked, "Is this your first Saturday Morning Meeting?"
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| Geena Davis sat in the row ahead of us at one meeting. She began an annual movie festival for Bentonville, a town which has no movie theaters of its own. |
I said, "No, it's my 80th or so. We go to all the SMMs, unless he is out of town. And we attend the shareholders' annual meetings too. My wife and I have lived in the area for seven years - for the grandchildren - and their parents." We named a few of the celebrities we have seen live, from our press row seats. Our favorite remains - Hugh Jackman.
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| Sandra Bullock came to the SMM immediately after her Oscar win. Many military heroes are honored at the meetings - and their super-safe truck drivers are routinely honored and applauded. |
We had a fun BBQ event for the whole family, where most of the birthdays fall within 30 days. Mrs. I has extra time to spend with our son, before the rest of the family arrives. So we catch up on all the developments and technology changes of the moment.
LI was my first Greek student, so I told him about how well the Bethany New Testament Greek classes are going.
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| Hugh Jackman stayed afterwards to meet guests and shake hands. We did not miss that opportunity. |