Getting Home - To Chattanooga

Even though it was after 2 a.m. when I crawled into the lower half of the bunk bed I awoke around 7 without an alarm. The shower was open and I revelled in hot water and plenty of water pressure. I quietly had all of my stuff collected and the room triple checked by 8:00 am. A few minutes later I was standing @ the ticket counter buying my one way into London Bridge station. Eight o five I'm on the train, moto in hand, pack on my back I'm on my way to Heathrow through.

I didn't have to wait for more than 5 minutes for any of the connections on the tube but it's almost 11:00 am by the time I arrive at the Heathrow. I don't know which of the 5 terminals to go to and first go to terminal 2. The guy @ excess baggage is helpful and I hurry back toward the correct terminal #3. I'm almost there when I realize that both my hands are free, which means I don't have the moto. That panic feeling quickly hits and I can't remember if I left it on the tube train or @ the excess baggage. I'm trying to get back before my 24 hours is up and they charge me for "each portion of a day". We've gotten this far without losing it so it's worth the retracing of my route. Run the ten minutes back to excess baggage to find it sublimely resting on the counter. Then hurry back to terminal #3 and excess baggage. The cost is 36 pounds because I'm 24 hours and 20 minutes. I explained that I'd gone to the wrong terminal and the guy drops the extra 20 minutes and 18 pounds of fee. It feels like it's going to be my day!!

Hurry to American Airlines ticketing and there are no lines. Yes there are three flights today and for $200 extra (Non-refundable) I can take my chances and fly standby. The first flight is not too full and I have a good chance (I'm standby passenger #8). The 2 p.m. flight is very overbooked and the so is the 4 p.m. Things are going my way and I want to get home so I pass the credit card and hurry over to baggage check in. They take my bags and only charge me overweight on one. Print the boarding pass and tell me that the plane is a bit late but is boarding now. . Not only is it a long distance between this place and the plane but I have all of British Air Authority (BAA) screening to pass through. I run up the escalator through pre-screening and then hurry through passport and boarding pass check, then through declarations, then wait for the X-ray, then personal screening and metal detectors then through immigration where they stamp my passport out of the country and into the huge duty free plaza waiting area. Past the food court and the throngs that are shopping and down the passage ways to boarding terminals into another que and they check my bag and boarding pass again. At the gate counter they ask me to wait in a special section with the other standby passengers. Boarding has just begun and there are eight of us hoping for empty seats. Had the plane left on time the last five might have gotten places, but with the delay other stragglers with confirmed seats were able to make the flight.

One of us already had a confirmed seat on the 2 pm flight. I'm number four on the standby list for that flight. They issue me a new boarding pass for that flight and assure me that my luggage hasn't left yet. Unfortunately we are not allowed to wait in these terminals and must recycle through security. It's after 12:30 and I haven't eaten yet. It's only an hour before boarding begins, so a trip back into the duty free area will give me a chance to grab a quick bite. Through customs, x-ray screening, metal detectors and I'm back in the lounge area and filling my empty water bottles. As I'm waiting in a food line for my sandwich, I realize my hands are both free. In the rush I've left the moto somewhere but I've only ten minutes to eat and get back to the terminal for boarding. Once at the terminal and checked into the standby area I ask the friendly counter staff to call back to American's ticketing and baggage area to see if it's been turned in but to they don't have it and there is certainly no time to check with BAA before this flight departs. American Airlines has overbooked perfectly and though they get reassigned seats every passenger with a confirmed seat who arrives in time gets on. But no standby passengers are seated. There is still the 4 p.m. flight but when they issue my new boarding pass for this flight they tell me eight new passengers are waiting standby for this flight and they all have priority over me.

At least recycling through customs again will give me a chance to check with BAA for the moto. This time through there is an American just ahead of me and he's being quite the pain to the BAA people. Loudly complaining about the process and how it's not this way in the U.S. @ home we take off our shoes here we can leave them on. At home the computers come out of the bags but here you leave them in the bags. He's being obstinate and no amount of encouragement from his wife can get him to comply without complaints of "they ought to all agree on the same screening!". We ended up next to each other in the final x-ray screening area. I don't know what came over me, but I commented to him that I had once had a boss who had two types of employees "flexible and former". IT startled him that another passenger had said something so he asked "What?" and I reminded him that adaptation was a key quality of the success of the human race. Based on his glare, I perceived that this was not a teachable moment for him and was glad he didn't punch me. The supervisors @ BAA had a whole heap of left items but no moto (it's gone, I hope whoever got it enjoys it). I had an extra 20 minutes in the duty free area to scope out where I might spend the night if I didn't get on the 4 p.m. flight. The flight is overbooked and 12 standbys seems pretty dubious, but I've got nothing else to do so I head to the terminal again.

The four of us from this morning are becoming friends. There is a young lady returning from volunteering in southern Africa. She missed her AA flight this morning when her South African Air incoming was delayed two hours. She is on her way to Fort Wayne and is out of cash. She's looking forward to getting on the flight for the food. There is a couple from St. Louis who have been touring Ireland. They had not planned for the long ques they encountered @ 8 a.m. and by the time they got to the ticket counter their seats had been given away to standby passengers. The other 8 standby passengers were the overbooked folks from 2 p.m. who had missed the flight.

The plane started loading first class and business class, no standbys called. Then group 1 and then group 2. A standby woman with two small children was called up. Group 3 and another woman with two older kids were called. We weren't surprised when the young lady from Indiana got a seat as she was #1 standby for the 2 p.m. flight. We cheered and clapped when her name was called. Group 4 was called and they called for couple from Missouri. I hooted for them and they wished me luck. There was another woman with two kids but luckily for me just one seat left and she wasn't going to send just one child or leave them both so that left the last seat, , on the last row open , , , , for me!!!

I'm @ Chicago's O'Hare International just after 7 p.m. I'm through customs by 8:00 pm. I call and leave a message on my wife's cell phone to let her know I'm in Chicago. I've heard there is a train I could catch to South Bend, Indiana. South Bend is just 30 minutes from my daughter's home and Shaloy is visiting her this weekend as well as attending the Thomas family reunion today. Someone recommends a bus to South Bend and shows me where to catch it. While I'm waiting I borrow a phone to leave a message I'll be in S. Bend around 1 a.m.. Shaloy, Tria and Ben are waiting when I arrive. Thirty minutes later we're at their house in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Although they both had work Monday we couldn't go to bed until after 3 a.m.

I enjoy another warm shower Monday morning before Shaloy & I start the 10 hour drive back to Chattanooga. We enjoyed holding hands and having nobody else to talk with. We didn't even care when we took a wrong road and added an extra 2 hours to the trip. I was only gone 8 weeks. It was busy and exciting and new for me but for Shaloy it was just a long slog of having to do her work and mine as well. We both agree that it's too long to be apart.