Dear Mr. President #487 "Heading for home"

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/21/art.vert.emu.jpg caption="When I start talking about owning an emu ranch, you know I've been sleep deprived for too long. It's time to go home." width=292 height=320]

Tom Foreman | BIO
AC360° Correspondent

Reporter's Note: I’m about ready to head for the airport and wrap up my latest western swing. So it seems like a good time to post today’s letter to President Obama.

Dear Mr. President,

I’m winding up my trip to New Mexico and preparing to come back to DC. Which is nice, because I’ll be with my family again, and not so nice since I really enjoy spending time outside of the Beltway. I suppose if I were a billionaire I’d just bring them along on every business trip and that would be grand. Of course, if I were a billionaire I guess I would not have to go on any business trips anyway. I’d just sit around playing ukulele and watching old movies all the time.

A friend and I once spent the better part of a long business drive talking about how entertaining it would be to own an emu ranch and herd them around while riding on a big ostrich; trotting up to greet visitors; wearing a fluttering pink kimono over a t-shirt and short pants, cowboy boots and hat, Ray Bans, and waving a martini glass. “Hello! Welcome to my ‘I’m a billionaire emu ranch!’ Saddle up a bird and let’s ride!” Actually, I don’t wear kimonos, drink martinis or wear boots, so I guess I just like the idea of someone doing that…not necessarily me.

Anyway, I’m drifting a bit into the goofiness of sleep deprivation. It’s always that way when we do these Building Up America trips. I tend to get up around 6 in the morning and get to sleep around 1:30 all week. But no complaints. I’m blessed with a good job and a natural love of meeting folks and hearing their stories, so all is right with the world.

Once during a job interview a million years ago, a big news executive asked me how I felt about travel. I said, “I like a reasonable amount of travel.”

“What’s reasonable?” he responded.

“I think if you are at work or on the road so much that you can’t be a real part of your family, your children’s school, your church, or your neighborhood, you can wind up pretty ill-prepared to report on other people’s families, kids’ schools, churches, and neighborhoods.”

I still feel that way. Even in hard times I think people need to keep perspective. Travel helps with that. And so does coming home.

Hope all is well in White House land. Call if you are free for five minutes. That would also be a good way of keeping perspective. Ha!

Regards,

Tom