"Is This Your First Saturday Morning Meeting?" No, More Like My 80th. Just Another Walmart Team Jackson BBQ

 Grandson Alexander agreed to pose in my Tilley hat,
holding my walking stick.

This is our schedule for monthly Saturday Morning Meetings at Walmart:
5 AM - I wake up and do some cleaning and coffee brewing.
6:30   - Pick up Little Ichabod at the Little Ichabode.
7:00   - Arrive at a Walmart location or the outdoor, tent-like AMP for the 8 AM meeting.

We arrive so early at the famous Saturday Morning Meetings that we often sit directly behind the celebrity guests, Walmart executives, or Walton family members.

 LI did a hilarious imitation of Arnie discussing his early morning
shopping trips at Walmart, during delays in filming.

This Saturday, we had a row of reserved seats ahead of us, and some younger people sat there as special guests. LI wondered where they came from, so I asked. "We are interns at WM; we're in business school."

The young intern wanted to know about LI's job and mine. She looked at me and asked, "Is this your first Saturday Morning Meeting?"

 Geena Davis sat in the row ahead of us at one meeting.
She began an annual movie festival for Bentonville, a town which has no movie theaters of its own.

I said, "No, it's my 80th or so. We go to all the SMMs, unless he is out of town. And we attend the shareholders' annual meetings too. My wife and I have lived in the area for seven years - for the grandchildren - and their parents." We named a few of the celebrities we have seen live, from our press row seats. Our favorite remains - Hugh Jackman.

Sandra Bullock came to the SMM
immediately after her Oscar win.
Many military heroes are honored at the meetings - and their super-safe truck drivers are routinely honored and applauded.

We had a fun BBQ event for the whole family, where most of the birthdays fall within 30 days. Mrs. I has extra time to spend with our son, before the rest of the family arrives. So we catch up on all the developments and technology changes of the moment.

LI was my first Greek student, so I told him about how well the Bethany New Testament Greek classes are going.

 Hugh Jackman stayed afterwards to
meet guests and shake hands.
We did not miss that opportunity.

Walmart Shareholders Meeting - A Dream Come True for the Booze Brothers. They Missed Seeing Their Fave No-Talent Singer-Dancer, Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Little Ichabod and I went to the Walmart Shareholders Meeting, which  combines their business meeting with an entertainment extravaganza. They keep one guest secret  from everyone, and that star sings at the end of the meeting.

I was curious why the normal line-up during the meeting was not long on celebrity. In the past many of the entertainers were nationally known (perhaps more in my generation). Finally, I said, "Is there a mystery guest?" LI did not know.

I remembered Celine Dione singing in the past, coming out at the very end while people went nuts taking photos.

Pretending to close the meeting, Katy Perry's make-up was advertised in a video and she strolled out with her dancers to do a three-song set. I said to LI, "The Booze Brothers dream come true!" That explained where the entertainment budget went. One can only imagine what makes her successful in a land gone to the dogs.

Geena Davis in a League of Their Own

We arrive early at the monthly Saturday Morning Meetings. Very early. At one meeting we sat behind the Walton (Walmart) heirs and top executives. I have talked to two of Sam Walton's children, Alice at the museum and Jim after a meeting. The family owns 51% of the stock, which comes from Walton planning his estate early and dividing the shares.

So - one meeting we were in the row behind Geena Davis, who was introducing the annual Bentonville Film Festival.

Hugh Jackman was very kind to a little girl who brought him a card during the
Christmas meeting. He greeted the family afterwards and stayed
to shake hands with those, like us, who wisely stayed around to say hello.
He is the only celebrity guest to do this - ever.

We watched Hugh Jackman leading the Christmas carols at a December meeting and shook hands with him afterwards.

Anderson Cooper came to one meeting to promote his autobiography. Once again we were front and center. We are in so many reaction shots at the meetings - cameras aimed at the crowd - that I advised LI to look toward "our" camera to avoid the monitor-stare look.

Arnold Schwarzenegger never stops entertaining.

We were fairly close to Arnold at another recent meeting. He loved telling stories about how films get made. Some fans know that he is famous for going to Walmart at all hours and buying large quantities of stuff between takes.

We spoke to Google's VP of global sales, Philipp Schindler,
after another meeting.