Below: ANA/United 777 to Houston, TX from Tokyo. Pilot: Luke Skywalker
When I left to go to Thailand a month ago, I lost a day because of the International Date Line. On my return flight, I was able to get to the United States in just a few hours (according to my watch and calendar adjustment) from when I left. The trip was smooth on the way home until I arrived at Houston. If you read the first page of my blog, you know that I was suspected of carrying some illegal substance that the Q-tip and analysis machine picked up. I was detained for nearly 45 minutes. Yesterday was worse. Coming through customs, I was wearing a pair of shorts that I bought in Thailand. They had two pockets on each side in front. One overlapping the other making it necessary to stitch the shorts in way that created a bulge where the pockets were sewn together. Security patted me down several times but were not convinced that there was nothing there, We went into the privacy room to take off my shorts. Security guards Batman and Robin (that is what they called themselves) followed me into the room with great intrigue., I stressed that there was nothing in my pants (well, nothing illegal) but they wanted me to take them off. In Thailand, it is against the law to go out into public not wearing underwear. Being the law abiding citizen I am, I had on new boxer shorts and was able to show them off. I had the dynamic duo inspect my shorts and they preceded to feel away at the seam of my shorts. Batman ran his thumb down the edge of the shorts and said he felt something ("ya, stitching" I said). Boy Robin left the room and returned a minute later. He brought back Q-tips and a clothe iron. These guys were a joke, but they could not take a joke when I said that I appreciated them ironing my attire, since they had taken everything out of my bag and wrinkled it. Guys in general, do not fold clothe very well, me included. "Sir, that is not the reason for the iron". " We heat the iron and if there is something there, we will use the Q-tip to pick any residue off the base of the iron". They continued with their detective work, ran a scan of the Q-tip swab and said that it did not give an indication that there were any chemicals in the shorts and told me I could get dressed. By this time I would have to hurry to catch my flight to Panama City. I ran to the gate and as I stepped up to desk to check in the man said that the gate was just closed. He called the crew and they said, "too late". I literally missed the flight by seconds. I respect what airport security does to protect us, but this seemed over the top to me. When they were done ironing, I asked them to call the gate to let them know I was coming but they said I had time. "Wrong".
Below: A view from 35,000 feet over Montana. The circles are from the circular irrigation
Below: My luggage went through to the flight I was not on. I needed to send a copy of my baggage claim so Deb could pick it up at the airport in Fort Walton Beach. I always thought that if the person is not on the flight, their luggage does not go.
The weather became severe very quickly early afternoon and one flight after another was being cancelled. Over 400 flights at George Bush International Airport in Houston were cancelled within three hours. I was put on a 6 PM flight and as backup, I was put on the 7 PM flight to Panama City. The website continued to show more and more cancellations and now there were only a handful of flights that were not cancelled. The two Panama City flights were delayed over five hours when they finally cancelled both flights leaving me no option but to spend the night at the airport or hotel. I was in the United Club business area when a guy sat next to me and I asked where he was headed. He told me Jacksonville and his flight was on time. Jacksonville is five hours from our home but I wanted out of Houston, so I had the United Club book me on the flight and took off at 8 PM for Jacksonville to rent a car and drive five hours to my home. I took the very last seat on the plane and arrived at 10:33. My luggage had already arrived at Panama City and my wife had picked it up. I did not tell Deb that I was on the flight to spare her the worry of me driving five hours after traveling for nearly 40 hours to this point. I went directly to Enterprise rental and picked up the car and began my drive home at 11:15 PM. It was easy access to Highway 10 and there was not any traffic on the highway. A distinct difference from Bangkok. I listened to talk radio for five hours focusing on driving safely. I arrived at my house at 5 AM without incident. I unpacked my bags quietly so I would not wake up my wife, I was planning to stay up until she got out of bed. I made too much noise and I woke her up, but she thought it was Dalton or a burglar was in the house. She was relieved and happy (I think) to find out that it was me.
So, the long trip is over and will process the events of the month and write one more follow-up to the blog to assess in reality how productive, worth while the trip was. As of right now, I feel as though the trip was a major success and I was able to give my twelve Thai students a clear indication of what they need to focus on to speak English well. It was nice to see how confident my students were when they left my classroom on their last day of class. They were remarkable students in accepting the constructive criticism. Whether you teach adults or children, it is essential o develop a positive rapport with your students. We all became very close and bonded well making it easier for them to ask questions that they otherwise would have felt uncomfortable asking.
Chi Yute was a major highlight of my trip. I spent many nights eating at the same restaurant eating "real" Thai food. He made sure that I had the best shrimp, an immediate drink and a fan to stay cool. Every time that it rained, he had the baggie hat on to stay dry(ish). He was a huge bonus to me on this trip.
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Below: My last walk down the street in the city of Bangkok, Thailand
Thailand Facts:
Though small, it currently ranks as the world’s second-largest exporter of rice. It held first place before losing to India in 2015.
Buddhists believe Buddha was an elephant before he took on a human form. An elephant tattoo is a powerful thing to have, so consider getting one if you’re in Thailand (or NOT).
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