Text 32476, 100 rader
Skriven 2013-01-10 06:20:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: recent trip 74
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My brother offered to take me to the airport. This usually
means that he wants to take a ride. Really wants, in this
case, as I wanted to be out before 10, and he almost never
gets up before 10. It's not such a great deal for me, for
though public trans takes up to 90 minutes and $7.55,
usually I reimburse his gas, about 2 gallons, but usually
I just give him a ten or twenty.

I allowed enough leeway so that if he didn't deliver (which
has happened) I could still cab it to the subway and get
to the airport on time; at the tipping point he was still
asleep, so I woke him. Turns out he had as usual misheard
and mistaken the departure time I had told him for his
wakeup time. A hasty dressing and departure.

At the corner near the house, we passed a car parked in a
not-usually-parked place, right by the traffic light. He
mused that that was not a usual place for a car to be
parked. I agreed. As we went by I noted that there was
nobody in the car, but there was a dent in on the left
side, which to me suggested something. He asked, why would
there be a tent on the left side of the car. Trying to
teach him something about context, I said, you misheard me,
what would there be on the side of a car that sounds like
tent but isn't. The only word he could come up with was
tint. Oh dear lord, save me. A sort of Socratic dialogue
ensued, with me putting forth the facts of there being a
car parked at the side of the road that had a something
sounding like tent. It took me a while, but eventually he
figured it out.

It was not a great trip. Over the next twenty minutes he
zoned out a couple times and swerved, nearly hitting things,
and I wondered for a sec or three if this wasn't going to
end badly. It didn't.

As we pulled into DCA, we passed this bronze statue, and he
asked me, who is that guy? I answered, Reagan. "He looks
younger than Reagan." A lot browner, too, I said.

An attendant at the roped-off PreCheck line challenged me
when I went to use it, asking for some kind of credential.
I told her it was preencoded into my boarding pass, which
explanation she accepted grudgingly. Three beeps and a
quick routine later I was at the door of the club. The
first class line would have been only a few more minutes,
but the regular line looked at being 20 at least.

My favorite concierge took care of me; good to see Mary;
unfortunately I was out of treats (didn't go to Harbor
Sweets this December).

US3740 DCA PHL 1200 1305 CRJ 3A

This left from the remote gate 35A. Though our craft was
first in line and thus walkable, that would have constituted
a security issue, so we sat on the bus for 10 minutes doing
nothin'. The flight was right on time, so I had just time
for a walkthrough of the B-C club to get my e-mail. On the
way out, I noticed my favorite bartender; we exchanged happy
new yearses, and I regretted that I didn't have time to stop
for a drink. And in fact, boarding had almost completed by
the time I got to the gate.

US3274 PHL PVD 1355 1504 E75 3A

There was room above for my carryon. I was about to sling
my personal item onto my seat when I just barely noticed
that there was an occupant - to wit, a Kindle or tablet.
The guy at 2A had put it there for some reason.

In the magazine I noticed that the spirits list has been
severely cut to 4 items, Bailey's, CC, Courvoisier VSOP,
and I think Bacardi, anyhow something I'm not interested in
and that isn't bourbon. I asked for Courvoisier only to be
informed that there was no such thing. I said, brandy? and
the FA, who was not unpleasant, said that that was only on
the big planes. So after consulting the list again I asked
for a Mr. Pibb, which I'd not tasted in a long time. It
was severely caffeinated and severely oversweet; tasted
like carbonated maraschino cherry juice. Along with this
Biscoffs and a tiny bag of stale Cape Cod potato chips.

My friends Lucille and Sue picked me up at the airport and
got me back on the island in good time. I offered, maybe
encouraged me to go off drinking with me, but they demurred,
apparently having things to do.

I had several day's visit with my buddy Rosemary. We were
supposed to have a whirlwind rota of party upon party, but
she came down with a severe cold, and I decided to keep her
company rather than go to the parties. We ate mostly
leftovers out of her fridge, as it was snowy and unpleasant
out. When the time, the train from Wickford to Boston is
easy and not too expensive. There also is wi-fi.


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