Despite his penchant for the Phillies, Chris Lehman strikes me as a mensch, a term I rarely use, and he promised me a cheesesteak. Sean Nash is there, who has bent my concept of friend. So is Jen Orr, who makes me think every time she blogs. And Jose Vilson, who, whether he likes it or not, is going to be a focal point of the next real revolution in public education, because he worries about the kids the charter schools leave behind, and because he's brilliant, and because he has cojones most of us lack.

I wanted to bang heads with Gary Stager, who seems to shy from real discussion in the virtual world (but then again I'm small potatoes). I hoped to tangle with Eric Sheninger, who has no problem exposing his lambs, though I suspect his heart is in the right place. I wanted to dance with Alec Couros, who has the 21st century view of privacy. I love conflict, because that's where we solve things.

I'm an old fart with a new-fangled virus coursing my veins--not sure if it's the California, Perth, or Brisbane forms making the rounds that got me, but I got got pretty good.

So it's wait 'til next year! If the EduCon registrations are transferable (and I have no idea if they are), let me know if you want in, and you can pretend to be me.

I'm sorry to kiss away the $150, even more sorry to kiss away the experience. On the plus side, I'm a huge believer in Home & School Associations--I did my part for the SLA.

And maybe someone can talk Principal Lehman into an EduCon lite for the summer when the teachers among the educationerati have a moment to breathe.

Sean, give them hell....

Flu pic from National Geographic here....

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