Paper Connections

I recently traveled 2,000 miles to replace white snow with white sand and warm weather.   Upon our arrival to Punta Cana, while waiting to go through customs, I struck up a conversation with a couple that ended up being from a small town in Wisconsin, a town they were sure I’d never heard of, Keiler Wisconsin.  As a matter of fact I told them, we travel through Kieler several times a year when heading to Lansing Iowa to go fishing, so indeed I knew exactly where Kieler was. 

Continuing our conversation, I asked the now retired gentlemen, what he had done for a living and was told he worked as a service tech for Xerox for over 30 years.  We both chuckled when I told him I was in paper distribution and to not always blame the paper, in fact don’t ever blame the paper! 

Later in the week, while enjoying some pool time, a travel mug with a big red “W” on it, indicated to me that some other folks were also from Wisconsin.  (When you follow college basketball and football you know these things).  This group again told me they were from a town I probably wouldn’t recongnize…..Nekoosa, Wisconsin.  I said, as in Nekoosa Paper???  Turns out all three of the guys in the group, work for the paper mill which is now owned by Domtar.  I told them that several years ago (close to 30)  I had taken a mill trip to Nekoosa and was introduced to the production process of paper manufacturing.  I remembered selling Nekoosa Bond, Mimeo, Duplicator, Nekoosa Offset, Nekoosa Linen & Laid which were all sheets they all remembered well.  The industry is different now and the plant’s manufacturing focus has changed, but it was fun to strike up a conversation and realize that paper connects us all in many ways. 

My connection(s) was in the manufacturing and distribution aspect, all discussed while on vacation.  Does this mean the trip itself is a tax write-off?