We took a picture together on my cell phone and I told her about Buffettfest 2003: Across America - a trip several friends and I had taken after one of them asked us drive her new car from California to New York as she relocated. It seemed like a great experience, so we agreed. We began by visiting Disneyland and talking about Buffett acquiring 5% of the company for "five times rides" - and later selling it for a $1 million gain. We then visited See's Candy in Sacramento, R.C. Wiley in Utah, counted the XTRA trucks we passed, drank Coke, etc. We finally decided that we were going to stop halfway through and visit Omaha; we knew we wouldn't get to meet Mr. Buffett and joked about the magical powers of Debbie (who is infamous for her ability to keep people from disturbing the famed investor while he works).
In Lincoln, Nebraska, a hitch fell off a tractor-trailor and hit our car, causing a substantial crash. Once it became apparent that everyone was alright, the joke for the next several years was that Debbie's powers were far greater than we anticipated - she stopped us hours before even getting within photograph range of Kiewit Plaza.
In real life, she's delightful. Warren's lucky to have her around the office.
