Post from the airplane

Miserable. Time of testing. Punishment. Call it what you will, but this cat was not made for international travel. Or at least coach travel. Next time you eat, instead of getting a toothpick, go find a blunt end pencil and use that in between your teeth. There is the analogy for the Jeff Greer school of travel.

Well, we are pooped. I didn’t get off work until 8:30 last night. Then, we still had to pack, make sure the paperwork was in order, leave instructions for dad, etc. etc. By the time all was said and done, it was 2:00 when I hit the sack, had to get up at 4:00am for 7:10 flight out of Little Rock. I would like to tell you all these great things, but we are in a fog. Very tired and cramped. It started out in a 50 person jet. The ceiling height was 6’-1”. I am not. Tag on three inches and that plane was tight. Reminded me of the inside of some submarine. But, the overseas plane is big. But, here’s the bad part. The plane is full of TVs, TV’s that show a real time map of where the plane is globally. It has google earth or something under it to show exactly what state or country or body of water you are flying over. It is a constant reminder of much ground you have not covered. Watched pot never boils. Well, a GPS tracked plane over 14 hours never moves on the screen. It is the official documentary of immovable objects.

Good news is we are almost there. Three and half hours to go. When you’ve been on a plane for 10 hours, three and a half isn’t so bad. The other good thing is they feed you all the time. Snacks or meal or water. It certainly passes the time away and everyone looks forward to the next time you eat. It kills the monotony. And, the food is actually not bad. The best news is that Dan and Neila Pannell and Dean and Christy Dixon are with us. They are two other families in our group. There may be one other family on the plane, but if they are they are in better seats than us. They are pretty tired as well so none of us are in real chipper moods right now. The plane probably holds 400-450 people and its packed. I’d say 90% are Chinese and they are extremely nice folks. Always smiling. Can’t understand a word each other is saying, but we have had some good laughs already. There is one American in front of me who has to go to China once a month. Good grief, man, how do you do it? Ambien and a little bit of liquor. He’s been out the entire flight. Lucky him.

Spencer has somehow stayed awake on four hours sleep and really has been OK with the whole deal. He’s stayed fairly busy. Nintendo, movies, books, and constant snacking our our best friends. Little toddler just walked by and confiscated someone’s stuff on the floor. Here comes dad running as best as possible. That is the wonder of international flight. OOp, the GPS tracker came up on the screen again, the plane has moved a quarter of an inch in an hour. I’m so excited..