terra firma

I LOVE to travel. And I also love to come HOME. Terra firma. Home is, after all, where your cat is. The red-eye out of Anchorage is brutal, leaving at about 11:00 pm local time (2:00 a.m. in my own time zone). This time around, the airline gave me 30 minutes to connect with a flight in Denver, after the five hour flight from Anchorage. Everything went off like clockwork, without delay... until actually pulling up to the gate in Denver.

It seems that unbeknownst to most of the passengers on board, there was a medical emergency in progress in row five and the paramedics were to be coming onto the plane. By my observance of the response team, it wasn't a cardiac or respiratory emergency, but all those beyond row five were required to stay in their seats until the situation was under control. I do hope that everything is alright for the lady in question, and I've thought about her a lot today. I dashed eight gates down the councourse as soon as I was able, and managed to sneak in just as the doors were closing. My luggage, however, did not make it... and I'm waiting on a currier to deliver it to my home.

As I was leaving Anchorage last evening, I saw a guy in a KU championship t-shirt walking toward me in the concourse. To him, I offered a hearty "Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!" to which he replied with equal gusto, "Go K-U!" It is very good to be a KU alum... and its one of those things that just gets better with passing time. Go figure.

Epilogue: This was an absolutely amazing trip, with incredible memories created... despite the raging sniffles, coughs, wheezes, and sneezes. If you haven't had the opportuntity to visit Alaska, by all means... make plans SOON! Ed and I have both been there twice now... and we are already talking about our next visit...