Colleen Rowley is a cool lady. I sat next to her husband during the entire talk yesterday — the most down-to-earth guy whose family has just been thrust into the spotlight with not the most flattering of hues. He loves watching her speak and brought the kids along with them to Chautauqua for a road trip speaking tour at colleges around the East Coast.
She’s a far better speaker in the small, intimate atmosphere of the Hall of Philosophy. She’s calm and cool, takes questions well, and really reflects her home-grown integrity through the passion of her speech. I caught up with her after the session and gave her my card — she’d said that she was interested in promoting her whistle-blowing cause but didn’t have any sort of web community set up to do so. I told her that Curt and I could take care of that no sweat. Maybe she’ll call… maybe she won’t. Good connection, anyhow. All of this took place standing around with her husband, the couple who sponsored her talk, and the President of Chautauqua. The spark of online community ignited a pretty cool conversation between all of us, which I left in the middle of because they torpedoed the entire concept by attaching it to her potential publisher’s promotional endeavors.
We’re packed and heading for the airport, Meg, Ted, and Emma in tow. The girls are still feeling awful; we’re all sleep deprived, and, as much as we love them all, it’s time for some time apart.