The plane sits
on the tarmac
tethered to the ground
by air control.
The metal tube
surrounds us
as we sit
and wonder
and fume
and fuss
our privileged journey
interrupted,
inconvenienced,
for a moment.
In the cabin
the pilot awaits
the word that
will start us
on our way again.
DCA
6 June 2013
Filed under Travel
Today the Trail led to Louisville. Again. At least that was the plan. It may still happen.
I arrived at LaGuardia – perhaps my least favorite place in New York – at around 4:30 for a 6:00 flight to Washington. There I would connect with a flight to Louisville.
Shortly after I arrived in Terminal C, the attendants announced that the 5:00 flight would be delayed. About 5:15, they announced that the 6:00 flight, my flight, would be delayed. I jumped into the line to check connections because I did not have much time in Washington.
Shortly after I got in line, they announced that my flight would be further delayed. Then came the news that they had cancelled the 5:00 flight. Oddly enough no one cheered this announcement.
When I reached the counter, Ricardo had bad news and good news and bad news for me. I would miss my connection. He could book me on another flight – a direct flight on another airline. It would not leave until 8:45. I took the flight.
Ricardo sent me around the corner to the other airline’s help desk. There I learned that the plane would depart from a gate in Terminal D.
Having almost three hours I asked if I could walk to the new gate. Told that I could, I did.
And I discovered the bridge between the terminals. And I realized that it made, if not a perfect, at least a very good place to walk and an opportunity to keep up my efforts at self-care.
In the spirit of making Irish whiskey when life gives one barley, I have spent an hour walking on the bridge. And since my flight is now delayed until 10:00, I may walk some more.
See you along the Trail.
The Trail led to Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington, Maryland this weekend.
Today the congregation held an intergenerational all-church retreat. I had the privilege to help lead the retreat working with gracious and talented staff members Jan Moody, John Horman, and Kirby Lawrence Hill.
About thirty-five people participated in the retreat. And they participated fully.
We considered the topic of why and how followers of Jesus engage in witness and advocacy in the public arena, that part of life where the decisions that shape and guide our common life.
I am grateful
I am grateful.
See you along the Trail.
I am on the road. Travel invariably plays havoc with any effort at self-care. My presentations for tomorrow being complete, this seems a moment to take stock of the past two days.
Minus – I have not reached my goal of 10,000 steps on either day.
Minus – I have not been able to walk for 30 minutes either day.
Minus – I have eaten a bit too much this evening.
Plus – I did not over eat on the trip from New York to Washington, DC. That almost never happens. Airport and train stations transform me into some form of over-sized locust that eats everything in sight.
Plus – Yesterday I ate well. Today I came close.
Plus – I have reflected on how I did rather than just letting it happen.
Plus – I have recorded my numbers even when they were not what I wanted. Usually when I fail to walk or eat too much or my blood sugar is too high, I don’t make a note of it. Denial means it did not happen, perhaps?
I am on the road. Travel invariably plays havoc with any effort at self-care. My presentations for tomorrow being complete, this seems a moment to take stock of the past two days.
Minus – I have not reached my goal 0f 10,000 steps on either day.
Minus – I have not been able to walk for 30 minutes either day.
Minus – I have eaten a bit too much this evening.
Plus – I did not over eat on the trip from New York to Washington, DC. That almost never happens. Airport and train stations transform me into some form of over-sized locust that eats everything in sight.
Plus – Yesterday I ate well. Today I came close.
Plus – I have reflected on how I did rather than just letting it happen.
Plus – I have recorded my numbers even when they were not what I wanted them to be. Usually when I fail to walk or eat too much or my blood sugar is too high, I don’t make a note of it. Denial means it did not happen, perhaps?
See you along the Trail.
As we speed downtown
toward South Ferry
the window captures my image
where it hovers, perhaps forever,
leading me to wonder:
whose train-snared shades surround me?
Who went before?
Whose paths do I share?
Who are my companions?
11 May 2013
1 Train between 116th and 110th
Today brought the easiest, smoothest trip I have had in a long, long time.
I travel quite a bit – not as much as some – but more than most. I write about my travel at times.
I have had some issues when I travel. I admit they pale in comparison to those faced by my friends Nancy and Sung Yeon to whom I extend condolences. But anyone who travels as often as I do will have some issues. They happen.
When they happen, I usually whine. Loudly. Widely. Boldly.
And when things go well, I admit that, too.
I figure saying nice things about good travel grants me the privilege to whine. Loudly. Widely. Boldly. No logic supports that thinking, but it works for me.
Today’s travel began in Louisville. My last meeting was a consultation between the Presbyterian Church of Korea and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
I checked in for my flight, cleared security, and began to search for something to eat. At the restaurant, I met my friends in the Korean delegation at the airport and had another really good conversation with them. We hugged before they boarded their plane. It left first.
Then my flight departed on time. A smooth flight with amazing views. It arrived early – thirty minutes early – at LaGuardia. My bag appeared as the second bag on the carousel at baggage claim. I literally walked out the door and into a cab. The ride home was simple.
Would that travel could be like that for all of us every time. I know it will not. And now that I have given thanks for today’s trip, I have staked out my claim to whine away when things go wrong.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Friends, Louisville, New York, Photo, Travel
Some slightly related and slightly random observations about today’s plane ride from New York to Louisville.
I arrived at LaGuardia’s Gate D6 to meet Joe, the enthusiastic … effervescent … maybe a bit manic gate attendant. He certainly was clear about who was in charge. Never once did he say, “Come to the desk about that.” Nor did he say, “Come see me with your question.” Always he said, “Come see Joe.” Moments of bonding.
###
When the time came to board, Joe called for those with priority status first. No one moved. No one. I do not believe I have ever seen that. I wondered, “What do the frequent flyers know about this flight that I don’t?”
###
On board the Delta flight, the flight attendant decided to imitate a Southwest airlines employee.
Flight attendant: Welcome aboard Delta flight 4065 to Hawai’i.Seatmate: Hawai’i?!? I packed wrong!
Me: No worries. They have stores in Hawai’i.
###
Joe boarded the plane before we left. That I had seen – gate attendants walking down the jetway to speak to the passengers. But, remember, this was LaGuardia – a major airport in a world-class city. As a result, Joe had to go down 25 steps (he had told us how many), walk about fifty feet across the tarmac (he had told us how far), and climb six steps into the plane (you guessed it). A bit of a trek for us. A bit of a trek for Joe. But he made it. He took the microphone and thanked us and wished us well and told us he hoped to see us again soon. I felt like I was leaving my family’s house after Thanksgiving dinner.
###
The flight attendant continued her efforts at humor. Whenever she asked someone to do something, she quickly pointed out, “I am not the flight attendant from Hell.” The first time she said it, I smiled weakly. Listening to the phrase again and again, I began to suspect that she might be the flight attendant from near Hell.
###
An awkward moment came when the flight attendant asked the woman across the aisle if she modeled. The woman, and the man traveling with her, simply stared back. The flight attendant broke the silence. “I am serious.” I don’t know what effect she thought those words might have. The woman, and the man traveling with her, continued to stare back at her. Undaunted, the flight attendant proceeded to talk about all the famous people, models among them, she would meet in her work. The woman, and the man traveling with her, continued to stare in silence. I got off the plane before they did. They may stare still.
###
I believe the experience put something of a restraint on the flight attendant. When she turned to serve me, she failed to ask about my modeling career. Her loss.
###
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Travel
Soon I will begin one of my favorite pastimes. I will do the laundry.
When I finish, I will pack some of the recently laundered clothes and some others. The Trail beckons again.
This time it will lead me back to Louisville. I have gone there often. Each trip is unique. This one will certainly be.
I will not stay at the Shire. This condo served as home and haven from 2003. Many friends stayed there with me through the years. Since moving to New York, my wife and I have tried to sell the Shire. Earlier this year we succeeded.
Until the sale, I usually stayed at the Shire at least for part of the time when in Louisville. Once or twice, I stayed in a hotel for the sake of attending a meeting. Now I will stay in a hotel for the whole time period. And that will happen every time.
The world turns. Life changes. We go on.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Louisville, Travel
I find myself wondering where this passenger’s ticket is kept.
Together we wait inside Washington’s Union Station.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Travel
Watching movies on a plane usually does not work for me. I fall asleep or just give up from boredom.
But Asiana flight 222 from Incheon to New York takes a long time. Long time. I decided to give it a try.
I went with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I had seen it at Christmas with Tricia and Eric. I knew the plot, more or less, and I will buy a copy when it comes out on DVD. If I fell asleep, little would be lost.
It worked. I watched the whole movie. Some of the special effects and scenery were a bit lost on the small airplane seat screen, but it held my attention. I enjoyed it.
A snippet of dialogue from a scene where Gandalf urges Bilbo to journey with Thorin Oakenshield and the others on their adventure to the Lonely Mountain stood out for me:
Bilbo: Can you promise that I will come back?
Gandalf: No. And if you do , you’ll not be the same.
That is the way of adventures in fiction and in the real world. Whatever else happens, we are changed. The change may be obvious. We may have to ponder long and discern carefully the change. But change there is.
I have had adventures in the Republic of Korea. I have, in the words of Tolkien, gone there and back again.
I have new knowledge. I have made new friends. I am not the same. Of course I am still processing the knowledge and I need to discern what other changes there may be. Interesting days lie ahead.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Travel
Along the Graybeard Trail 