Tom Campbell June 25th 2016

The first MBT Forum Members get-together I ever attended was in Charlotte (Matthews actually) North Carolina in March of 2011. It was amazing to meet so many forum members in person, and to see Pamela and Tom, Keith and Donna again. I had met Tom in New York for the first time the April before, which was also the same weekend I met Bette and her kids.

There was a lot of talk in the comments on the pictures about making it an annual event.

When I came home from that get-together, I realized I knew at least 4 other Forum Members who were local to Massachusetts, and I thought maybe the 5 of us would be enough to form a local group.

My local group met every month to discuss MBT and related ideas, and in April 2012, we hosted the second Forum Members get-together in Boston (Quincy actually) Massachusetts. We had about 40 people.

After seeing Tom once per year for three years, four more years went by before I would see him in person again.

In 2013, I was getting frustrated with trying to coordinate our monthly meetings. I had made arrangements to pass the responsibility for setting up our monthly meetings to another member. I was getting tired of it.

But then I was contacted through the discussion forum by someone in a nearby state who wanted to join my meetups. This new member brought new life into my commitment to the group, and I resumed the lead.

Early in 2015, I confessed to my group that I had a fantasy. There was a hotel I knew of near Logan Airport, my company had done a big weekend conference there previously. This hotel had gorgeous views, delicious food, a constant shuttle to the airport and incredible customer service. My fantasy was to be able to afford to fly people in from all over, put them up at this hotel, and have the get-together and all our meals right in the hotel. It seemed so convenient and ideal. My request was for the rest of the group to help me win the lottery to make this fantasy come true.

The newest member had never met Tom, and he was interested in putting something together. Even though we did not manifest a lottery win, we started talking seriously about bringing Tom to Boston again. In July 2015, I started asking some of the previous attendees if they would come back. By October, our plans were in full swing.

Adam picked Tom and Pamela up at the airport on Friday, June 24th. He was also their driver the first time they came. He brought them to Les and Maureen's, who were also their hosts previously. In 2012, I was invited to a quiet dinner with Tom and Pamela, Adam, Les and Maureen but I declined, because I wanted to hang out with the fans. The hotel in Quincy was at least half an hour from where our guests were staying.

When we brought Tom back this year, Maureen invited me to dinner Friday night again but I said I would hang with the fans. Adam and I talked briefly on the phone before he went to pick our guests up, and he mentioned that I should stop by. I was also on my way to the airport to pick up a forum member, but I said if the timing was right, I would come. But that I would only stay a short time.

After bringing Whitcomb to the hotel, I went into the bar to find some fans. I sat down and started chatting with Lake when a text came from Adam that Maureen said I should come over. I apologized to Lake and got in my car and within ten minutes I was at their front door. I realized the difference in 2016, from 2012, was the proximity of our guests to the hotel. I had enough time to eat salad and a popover, but first to get a hug from Adam, Pamela and Tom. Tom gives the greatest hugs! When he embraced me, it washed away the exhaustion of three trips to the airport and sitting in traffic for hours. That hug made the whole thing worthwhile.

The Q&A from 9-5 went off without a hitch on Saturday, and our 60 guests enjoyed lunch and dinner but especially the camaraderie. Saturday night we were treated to an advance screening of The Path:Evolution featuring Tom. But after dinner and before the movie, Tom posed for photos with the fans. After getting my photo taken with Tom, I got another hug.

Sunday morning from 8:15 until 11:30, a few of us had a quiet breakfast with Tom, where he continued answering our questions but in a more informal round-table discussion, and I captured a few pieces on video. I had to take Whitcomb back to the airport at 11:30 so I did not get a hug goodbye, but I am incredibly thankful for the ones on Friday and Saturday night. This guy can really hug!