The brief comes into form

It finally clicks without me having to figure it out

It really was a great time in Rhode Island yesterday at Salve Regina U’s climate security event (cohosted by the Naval War College).

Tremendous nostalgia for the place, as it was 7 years out of my life and a wonderful stretch of parenting (what my son Kevin refers to as the “golden age”). We all had wet suits and boogie boards and hit Second Beach every day we could, routinely working the waves there far outside of the “season.” Long bike rides along shorelines, and always some Del’s frozen lemonade.

We also doubled in kid-size there, going from first-born daughter Emily and first son Kev to native Rhode Islander Jerry and Vonne Mei adopted from China but formally re-adopted under US law at the same Newport court where Amistad (the film) was actually shot and where John Quincy Adams actually did his thing as abolitionist lawyer.

So, a lot of big memories and just the strange comfort of being near the ocean and feeling its presence (SR’s campus is right on the famous Cliff Walk).

My dominant memory: I never came out of the ocean feeling anything but better, and I do miss that.

Only my second time in RI since 2005, when I was pushed out of the college as part of CNO Vern Clark’s house-cleaning of all things Cebrowski (father of net-centric warfare whose re-occurence of cancer would kill him months later, denying me his continued mentorship). So, some sadness too. Losing Art lost RI for me in many ways. It closed a door and I felt the need to move on — and back to the Midwest, where I’ve been ever since.

Great to spend some time with Jim Ludes, former aide to Sen. John Kerry and now Director of the Claiborne Pell Center at SR. Jim and his staff put on a tremendous show and I really enjoyed it all.

Speeches by Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and, as much as I gripe about Boomer politicians (and I did), I have a lot of respect for those two on military matters (Reed) and climate change (Whitehouse). Got to spend a few minutes with Reed and we compared notes on our favorite RI haunts. He is a true native and knows damn near everybody in the entire state (no kidding).

Also got to hear Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, who, as billed, is quite the charmer in person — just the kind you want in a job that is either public-facing or personnel-facing almost all the time.

Also got to touch base briefly with Sherri Goodman, whose book I recently reviewed.

---

---

That’s Sherri on the right. Her blurb can be found on the paperback front cover of The Pentagon’s New Map, so the two of us go back quite some time, sharing a background with the Center for Naval Analyses.

Finally, after my talk, Jim Ludes had a convo with Secy John Kerry, the climax of the day and the biggest draw. That was held in a tent just off the Cliff Walk shoreline.

Beautiful cool evening.

Some shots of the buildings at Salve. All of these were donated by the Uber-rich back in the day and so represent some serious Gilded Age beauty.

And yes, the HBO series has filmed on the campus and will do so again. I met some HBO people in the hotel last night.

As for my talk, I was truly in the zone.

Didn’t sleep great the night before, but there was a coffee shop just feet from the auditorium, so I downed a large latte with extra shot and then a small latte just prior to taking the stage after SECNAV. I timed it just so.

I was firing on all cylinders throughout, finally (this is maybe the 25th time I’ve given the mature ANM brief) reaching the point where I don’t have to think about what I’m saying because it’s all just there, ready for the taking.

Also, for the first time, I really found the humor in the brief. For a long stretch there I wondered if there was any, but eventually you find the balance between the dire and the demonstrably funny, and this audience (older, on average) was highly receptive on both scores, so, once I sensed that, I cut loose in a way that both I and they could enjoy.

So, that was a great feeling because it can take a while to reach that comfort level and, by doing so, lose all sense of self-consciousness and just be incredibly present in the moment (always hard to achieve).

Jim Ludes was very happy with the talked (“You crushed it!”) and it meant a lot to me to make him happy, because I know what a thing it is to mount an event and pray to God that the people you brought in are going to deliver.

I and Throughline are hoping to build something bigger with Jim and the Pell Center going forward, and we’ll see if we can work something out. But this was a great start.

And yeah, Jim and Co. were sharp enough to be selling both Sherri’s book and mine outside the auditorium, so I got to sign several dozen for people, which is always an honor and very enjoyable after a talk that truly connects.

That’s the mouth of the Sakonnet River, a very similar view was had from our house in Portsmouth or toward the top of the island

---