My vote for Rockford Man of the Year

OK, I don't think there even is a Rockford Man of the Year contest, but if there was, my vote would go to Greater Rockford Airport director Bob O'Brien.

Since taking over as airport director, O'Brien has been unflagging in his efforts to turn RFD from a beautiful ghost-town, languishing in the shadow of the mighty O'Hare, to a working facility that people can actually get on a plane and fly out of.

O'Brien crossed a major hurdle last night, when the Rockford Airport board voted unanimously to allow him to offer interested airlines the financial incentives they demand before they'll commit to RFD.

I love O'Brien's enthusiasm, which resonates even in the airport news releases I get, many of which he has obviously written himself. I love the constant sports analogies that pepper his conversations about the airport: "We're definitely within the ten-yard line now," he said of last night's board decision.

I like him because he's proactive and passionate about his job, and I like him because he's making things happen. For years, Rockford residents have had to trek to O'Hare, over an hour away, before we could fly anywhere. Now we can at least fly from Rockford to Florida and Vegas, and maybe soon to Detroit, Denver and even Atlanta and Phoenix.

The day I hop on a Rockford plane that takes me to Texas, I'll be one happy Rockford resident...and I'll owe the lion's share of it to Bob O'Brien.

It's Friday! It's Friday! It's Friday! It's....



OK, so I'm a little hysterical. :)

And time again to answer the Fridays Feast quiz...come on, join me, either in my comments section or on your own blog!

Appetizer
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how attractive do you think you are?--Nuh-uh...not gonna go there. In the first place, I have a very low opinion of my looks. But even if I didn't, I'm amazed at people who can actually describe themselves as being very attractive. It displays a level of self-confidence I can't even imagine. And in the second place, I just don't agree with the scale of 1 to 10 thing, in terms of attractiveness. There are so many variables when it comes into what makes a person attractive. I for example, think Russell Crowe is highly attractive, but I know many women who think he's totally unappealing. So although I'm not technically answering this question, it does give me an excuse to post this picture.



On a more personal level, I would rate my husband WAY high on the scale; I fortunately find him extremely attractive, but it's based on a variety of factors that I'm not sure would always register with some scale.

Wow, I sure devoted a lot of space to answering a question I wasn't going to answer!

Soup
What local restaurant would you recommend to a visitor to your town or city?--Well, it depends on what they're looking for.

--For a classy, fine dining experience--Giovanni's
--For the most delectable pizza this side of Chicago--Giuseppi's'
--For amazing Italian dishes and melt-in-your-mouth steaks--Maria's
--For down-home Midwestern cooking--The Machine Shed
--For the best and most diverse fast food menu--Beefaroo

There you go...just can't narrow it down to one.

Salad
What's a lesson you had to learn the hard way?--Actually, it's a lesson I've learned more than once: Everything has consequences.

Main Course
Name something in your life that you feel you can depend on 100%.--My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Dessert
If you could see the front page of a newspaper from September 24, 2104, what would you imagine the headline might be?--Wow...a hundred years from now. I can't even venture to guess...but maybe "Bush ahead in the presidential polls"? A descendant of the present Bush dynasty, of course. :)

Happy weekend, everybody!