I was standing at the urinal on Saturday at Keystone Snow Resort in Colorado and the Beatles song, "With a Little Help From My Friends" started playing on the speaker. I thought to myself, "How appropriate."
After all, were it not for my surrogate parents here in Boulder, Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor, I wouldn’t have been in Keystone to begin with, let alone embark on my very first ski lesson!
With Amy’s expert guidance I visited a ski mountain for the first time in my life, joined a group lesson, and had a blast. I made it to "level 3" which meant I could ski downhill and go side-to-side. I was, I confess, the best newbie in the group. Chalk up another new life experience!
My weekend in Keystone, skiing and all, reminded me of a principle that never seems to fail: people first, the rest takes care of itself. I’m fortunate to be hanging with an awesome group of people. Whether it’s being given an all-day tour of Boulder on day 3 by the de facto mayor, Brad, or enduring the intellectually humbling experience that is extended time in a car, living room, and dining room table with Chris Wand (who, in addition to being 10x smarter than me, is also hilarious), every day provides its share of new people who are each living life their own way.
Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends. So thanks, friends.
Strangely enough, I’ve just come back from a skiing trip and the thought crossed my mind only yesterday, ‘I wonder if Ben Casnocha has ever skiied, he seems to have done a lot but I don’t think he’s ever mentioned it.’ Well now you have! I only discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago but it is proving very stimulating reading, much appreciated.
Ben,
Great stuff! Looking forward to meeting you when I’m in Boulder in March. In the meantime, enjoy the fantastic experience of being around Brad and the other Foundry guys; what an unbelievable opportunity.
Best,
Jason
You are embarking from one adventure to another. You are going to have a lot of amazing stories to tell your grandkids.
Sorry I missed you that one time, hope to see you when you come home.