Wednesday, June 23, 2021

flying off to cali... cali... cali

Last month, after a long phone call about Ronnie and loss and pandemic, Paul and Cathy invited me to come see them... and I accepted.

Within a week, I'd actually purchased tickets, taking a giant step toward normalcy and an even larger leap away from shelter in place.

Now, within an hour, I'll be stepping off the plane at Oakland and into Paul's car.

This will be our first in-person meeting since their visit to me in 2014.

That's far too long to go without seeing friends-who-are-family.

I took this photo to make sure he'll recognize me, with the smiling-moustache mask I changed into while in the Dallas airport.

I'm also wearing the t-shirt I'd bought in the Oakland airport, on my first visit to them, back in February of 2008.

Speaking of Dallas, I had a nice, three-hour, stretch there.

Originally, it was to be almost two hours, giving me a good break to get a bit of dinner - necessary, as Southwest didn't provide meals.

After a big bowl of tofu, beans, and rice from Moe's, I walked about and stumbled upon this Lil Love's Lounge.

Very nice, with fun graphics on the wall and a soft floor!

And what did I do to keep occupied?

I played sudoku, naturally, with the game book I'd purchased at the dollar store a few months ago.

The first two were done in Savannah, one before boarding, the other as the plane taxied.

The other four were during the 3-hour, 30-minute flight between Texas and California.

Not that puzzles were all I did... but they were certainly the most calming.

After all, they're part of my new groove.

Now, pardon me, but the plane should soon be landing... El Cerrito, here I come!

i thank You, God!

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