Notes from an Anglo-American Man

My flight to the US was supposed to leave at 10:30 am from Manchester, however the airport was closed to arriving and departing planes until 12pm. So at 2:30 PM (approx) we took off for Chicago. Now I have a thing about flying into Chicago, I don’t like doing it, if I can avoid it I will, but this time the difference between flying into chicago and anywhere else was $200. Why do I have a thing about flying into Chicago? Because I have never had a good experience flying into it. This was not to change this flight.
THe flight was long and hard, and due to various things, which I won’t go into on the net but if you know me well you’ll know what, I was in a very bad state by the time I arrived to Chicago, HAd the plane been on time I would not have had the problems that I did (I think) but as it was it didn’t.
About an hour before landing I had to take some medication, now about 10 minutes after that I rushed to the bathroom to be sick, as the med can hit me hard even at home, but I was already feeling bad. Unfortunately there was someone in the bathroom so up goes my hand and i manage to hold it in until I get a bag. Now i didn’t think about it at the time, but the contents of my stomach would have had the residue from my medicine. This would cause me a problem later.
I was feeling mentally and physically unfit, to the point where I honestly doubted my ability to get to the gate I needed to, the med makes me dopey at times, so I had wheelchair assistance.
I go through customs, no problems We find the gate that I need to get to and I go through security.
The pat me down and swab my hands (see I told you the med would cause a problem, even though i had thoroughly washed my hands)
I set their machine off, it alarmed on most of my carry on, anything I had touched since being sick.
To top this off customs had failed to stamp my passport… so there I was 8 TSA agents, many experts going over everything. One hour later they realise they have a totally innocent guy and I am free to go.
Of course allthough they are qualified to take all of my stuff out of my carry on’s I have to repack everything.
Now I’d already missed my origional connecting flight but was booked onto the last flight into Grand Rapids, MI of the day. So I sit down, ask a woman who was waiting for the same flight if she could wake me up if I fall asleep. I get on the plane, fall asleep and wake up just as we’re landing in MI.

It’s not 10:38 PM MI time, 6 hours after I was supposed to land. it is almost 4am UK time and I am TIRED. Instead of going straight to Evart like I was supposed to, I go to my aunt Norma’s for the night. Which was nice as I got to see her on her birthday. But I wake up at 4am MI time y body telling me I’m a lazy sod for sleeping till 9am… stupid time differences.

I arrive in Evart at around 2pm and go to place where I’m staying with my cousin Angela and her husband Keith. (who I may or may not refer to as spatula and barkey.)
I spend a bit of time unpacking pick out my copy of the water babies that I am giving to my good friend BJ (who owns the local book store) and walk over to the shop. Where I proceed to spend the next 2 1/2 hours talking. Good times, How I have missed those stimulating and fascinating discussions with BJ. I can’t think of any of my other friends who I can talk to about half of the things we discuss. It is good to be back.

Here I am on the beginning of day 3, woken up again at 4am but happy, and ready for the day ahead.

Peace and love be with you guys.