Greetings Fellow Adventurers

Seven Topics

Topic 1 of 7

Glacier National Park - A place made more special

My family and I are traveling to Glacier next week. My mother-in-law had a cabin near the park and we used it as a starting point for many adventures. She was a fiercely independent woman and lived her life with gusto and good cheer. She died during the covid shut-down so a funeral was not possible. Next week the family will meet at her cabin and say goodbye. She would be so happy to see us all together at her cabin-in-the-woods. But her style was not to sit around too long ... she would want us to get out and embrace the awe of nature. Her deep connection to Glacier National Park makes this one of the most special places for our family. Her great grandkids will get to know her through the place she loved.

Photo: Glacier National Park Link   

Topic 2 of 7

A few highlights from weekend at Innsbrook – Let's do it again next year

1. Kelly and Todd fed us like royalty
2. Susan used her new Cocktail smoker to make the best margaritas
3. Armando claims to have spotted a school of mermaids
4. Michael was able to hit the high notes in the Karaoke competition
5. Log spitting - Think American gothic with a hammer (and more people and logs)
6. Sarah shows her inner Paul Bunyan
7. Ashton threw a bulls eye in darts (and Susan got hit by a dart – Armando is under suspicion – no photographic evidence exists)
8. Becky turned Ashton into a newt
9. Hiking – no ticks allowed
10. Todd offered to give the PBR sign to Ron (conditions for transfer subject to nondisclosure requirements)
11. Alyssa delivered on the “Leave no trace” ethic

Topic 3 of 7

Books and Ideas: The Earned Life

• Think of Books and Ideas as an extended book club with two parts: (1) A video summary of the book posted prior to the workshop that members can watch at their leisure and (2) a workshop where attendees discuss related ideas to consider their relevancy for possible adoption.

Upcoming session:

• The Earned Life: Lose Regret Choose Fulfillment. A video summary is posted on the MAC Library and we will have two duplicate workshop sessions (so members have two time options and can select the time that is more convenient)
• Two Zoom sessions
  • #1 Monday June 27th at 8:30 AM Central time Info and RSVP
  • #2 Monday June 27th at  7:00 PM Central time: Info and RSVP

Topic 4 of 6

Upcoming Member meetings and Info sessions

• Event #1: New member info session (zoom)
  • Info session for New MAC members and for those who would like to learn more about MAC. Everyone welcome.
  • Tuesday July 12, 2022: 7 to 8 PM
  • Info and RSVP.
• Event #2: Member session: Social and updates (zoom)
  • Wednesday July 13, 2022: 7 to 8 PM
  • Info and RSVP.
• Hope to see you then.

Topic 5 of 7

Upcoming MAC trips and treks 

1. Forest Park Trek on Sunday 6/26/2022: Join other like-minded hikers for a trek in Forest Park and Wash U Med school campus. If you cannot make it to Forest Park, consider a hike with a friend near your location. Info and RSVP.
2. Colorado 14er hike and more: Join us in Georgetown Colorado for our second annual Alpine Weekend. Info and RSVP.
3. Grand Canyon: Join on an epic hiking and camping trip to the legendary Phantom Ranch. Info and RSVP.

We plan to hold info sessions on all of these trips in near future:

Keep an eye open 

Topic 6 of 7

Jerry King's trip to Europe

Member Jerry King just returned from an iconic trip to Europe. A few highlights:  

1. Schilthorn, Switzerland. Taken from the overlook at Piz Gloria. 

2. View of Jungfrau peak in Murren, Switzerland. Eiger and Monch would be to the left of this photo. 

3. Visitation of the American Cemetery overlooking Normandy Beach (Colleville-sur-Mer). 

Topic 7 of 7

Musings: My administrative assistant quit this week (what was she thinking?)

 Three circles intersected for me this past week.

• First, my Wash U admin assistant resigned. She left her current job for one with higher pay, more responsibility, and greater autonomy. This is a great new adventure for her and she is totally capable of succeeding. But as she walks out the door, she is taking all sorts of Ron-King-related-idiosyncratic-knowledge. She knows all the tricks to help me do my job. I now need to work with her replacement to recreate this expertise (woe is me) as do all the other faculty members she supports.
• Second, I watched the last episode of season 2 of Hacks where Deborah Vance (the boss) “fired” her assistant Ava saying that now was the time for Ava to move to the next opportunity and make her mark on the world. This was hard on both – they liked each other and had developed a working cadence that produced success. Link
• Third, I read the book The Earned Life. The author Marshall Goldsmith recommends that we all have an obligation to tell people that “they can be more” when they are not pursuing the path that might be best for them long-term. Making that recommendation may result in short-term distress (as in the case of Hacks) and the loss of domain-specific expertise (my assistant leaving). All parties face short-terms costs and uncertainties.

The idea of helping others to “be more … and to pursue your dreams” will be one topic we discuss at our next Books and Ideas workshop. This mindset focuses on the long term, but can disrupt short-term harmony. But so important to help launch new opportunities. 

Please let me know if you

• have anything you would like included in the next MAC newsletter
• would like to be added to the newsletter mailing list or you know of someone who would like to be added

I can be reached at Ron@MedallionAdventureClub.com or a text in MAC Slack. 

Adventure Awaits.

Ron King

Medallion Adventure Club