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Journal entry August 15, 2003
On the way to the airport yesterday morning, I told Master I had a bad feeling about this trip. We were a bit late taking off, I think about 45 minutes, but once we got into the air, the trip went really well. I kept trying to figure out what was the difference. I really do believe it was because I was in business class. I will work very hard not to have to fly coach on an overseas flight ever again.
It seemed to me that we were late in Heathrow, but once we got back in the air again, the captain came on and said he expected we would be landing in New York’s JFK about 6:15 pm only 15 minutes late. We landed 5 minutes before 6, early even if the flight had been on time.
Then the fun began. The captain said there were some electrical difficulties and because of how busy JFK was, we were being asked to wait on the plane for a while. The ‘awhile’ we were asked to wait ended up being 90 minutes. We managed to land in New York at the beginning of the GREAT BLACKOUT of 2003.
I got through immigration with no problems. Then Janice and I went to collect our bags. There was no electricity in the airport, which meant no A/C and the conveyors for the luggage didn’t work either. That meant that luggage was unloaded off the plane manually, and the brought into the terminal. There the skycaps unloaded the luggage onto the floor and there was a mad scramble to find your. That took another 90 minutes at the minimum.
I had a trolley, Janice had three bags, I shared with her and we went on to customs. We did the honest thing and declared the dates from Abida. They were confiscated. So much for being honest. I found the Kuwait information desk and got my voucher for a room in the Holiday Inn JFK. I was directed to the passenger loading area A and told to wait for the shuttle bus to the motel. That took another hour. The passenger loading area was gridlocked with parked cars belonging to people who were waiting to pick up arrivals off the plane. I tried to phone Katie on her cell phone to let her know I might be a bit later than I expected on the way out to the waiting area. The phones weren’t working.
The bus came, and it took about 25 minutes to load all the luggage. There was an Indian family of five, and they are allowed 2 pieces of luggage each, and by heck they were going to use it. They had 10 bags. Heavy bags. The shuttle bus was filled with baggage and people, but at least it was air conditioned. We go to the Holiday in, not a light on the street, but many cars. Another 20 minutes to unload the shuttle and into the lobby of the hotel. This is where the fun began.
The first thing I saw was three male members of the flight crew arguing with the desk clerk. Then I saw, or rather heard the loud obnoxious man who had nearly started a fight at the waiting area. He, apparently has been just about everything, from a member of the university swim team to the manager of a hotel. He was arguing with another of the desk clerks about why they had no rooms. Every hotel has extra rooms. We had reservations made by Kuwait Airways. Call them and ask. The phones aren’t working. What’s that you say? The phones aren’t working? How can that be? I can hear phones ringing all the time, You’d better be careful what you say sir, you are getting caught up in your own lies. And on, and on, and on, ad nauseum. I stepped back away from the counter. I figured that one of two things was going to happen. Either we got our rooms, or we’d be seeing some of New York’s finest. We saw the police. The man quieted down, a bit.
Eventually, the night manager was called and she gave us the grand ball room. Divided in half, one side for men, the other for women. She called in some engineers, when did the hotel business get so PC?, and they started bringing down beds and rollaways and carts filled with sheets and blankets and pillowcases. She ordered towels and soap and told us we could shower in the health club. Since living in Kuwait I have learned to sweat, and a shower to me, was worth it’s weight in gold.
I got out my caftan and walked out of the ballroom and proceeded to get lost. I’ve done that often recently. One of the engineers took me in hand and escorted me all the way to the health club. He even walked in with me and made sure the lights were on. It’s a good thing he did, because the door to the women’s shower room was locked. He unlocked it for me and then set the lock so it could only be opened from the inside. As we were walking down to the health club he said he hoped this wasn’t going to be like the blackout back in the 60s. The kid was maybe 20, but that’s only if his birthday was Wednesday. He was a very sweet kid, and I when I thanked him, he said he was only doing what his mother had taught him. Who says New Yorkers are cold? I have met some really nice ones.
I took my shower, cold water only, because by this time the power had been off long enough for all the hot water to have been used, brushed my teeth and made my way back to my sleeping quarters. At first I was sharing with only two other women, both Muslim. I learned some interesting things last night. One of them being that Muslim women don’t believe Americans can get sheets clean. Both of them opened their suitcases and pulled out sheets for their beds. They laid the sheets over the bed clothes already on the bed. I guess that explains why Kuwaiti’s need 4 suitcases each when they travel. They did remove their head covers, but nothing else, not even the sleeves that go under the sleeves of their clothes so nothing shows past the wrist.
By this time I was dripping wet again. The air in the grand ball room was very close. The advent of A/C also brought about windows that don’t open. And of course we couldn’t have to doors open to try to get some air moving through that way. No, no, some men might see us sleeping. Just as I was about to doze off, about 30 minutes later, we began to have even more fun. Apparently other airlines had sent transit passengers to the hotel without bothering to check if there were rooms available. I’m not making a blanket statement here, but the American women who shared sleeping arrangements with me last night were quite rude. Did I mention we couldn’t turn off the lights in the ballroom? These women were quite noisy, I don’t believe they even tried to lower their voices as they prepared to sleep. And some of them complained that they had to sleep on the floor, while “Those women, over there, got beds.” Seems to me they should have just been thankful as hell to have someplace to sleep. All in all, by the time morning came, I think there were 17 of us. And one male who tried. He was an older man, so I’m sure he just followed his wife, he was told in no uncertain terms to leave.
I woke up for good about 4:30, I think. I was so hot and miserable. I went across the hall to a rest room and rinsed off. I learned from the Taiwanese to always carry a small towel in the cosmetic bag. Then returned to the ballroom and got dressed. I went took my bags and went out to the lobby. I had decided I was going to secure a table in the lounge area by the front door. I wanted to be able to see the clock, I will never travel again without a watch, I wanted to be close to the front desk so I knew what was going on, and I wanted to be up and near the door to get some air.
Soon another women came in, and we started talking. Until this time we didn’t know the extent of the power outage. She had flown up from Atlanta on Thursday for a meeting, and was supposed to fly back that same night. She didn’t even bring a toothbrush. She had waited 3 hours the night before for a room. We talked a bit more and she said her boss was trying to get her on another flight out today. If she couldn’t fly out today, he was going to come in from Long Island to pick her up and take her to his house until she could get back home. She asked me if I wanted to use her room to get some rest. I must have really looked bad. She said she had a second bed in the room and I was welcomed to use it if I wanted. I took her up on it.
Since there was no electricity, the receptionist couldn’t make a key for the room. The night before, an engineer had to go unlock the door for her. When she left to come down in the morning, she didn’t shut the room, she pushed the safety latch closed and then closed the door. She had nothing there but her brief case and she figured if anybody wanted it, they were free to have it. Then she left and I slept. The room had sliding glass doors, which we managed to get open about 3 inches. I got some breeze so I slept quite well for about 2 hours.
I went back down to the lobby to find her. The management had figured out how to prepare a buffet breakfast and I had a voucher from the airline. I just heard the first plane take off. It’s just passed 6 pm. I went in and fixed a plate and then went outside to find her. She had just gotten done talking to her boss. He was still working on a flight home for her. She was supposed to call him back at 10. We talked some more and then decided to see if I could just take over her room when she left. We went into the front desk and asked, and that’s how I got my room. The woman said I’d have to come back later and make sure the room hadn’t been booked by someone else for today and that gave me a few anxious moments, but since the airport only just opened up again, I think I am safe for tonight. I will check out tomorrow about noon, and continue with the rest of my trip home.
I am debating if I can make the drive to Florida for Claudia’s wedding. I suppose it will be alright. I’ll have Sarah to keep me company. I still haven’t been able to call home and let them know I’m not coming. I’ll keep trying for a while tonight. I have just about decided that I am not going to travel ever again. This sucks.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
It’s 5:50 am. I just called Northwest airlines and have discovered that my flight is leaving today at 7:30 am. Unfortunately I am not going to be on it, because there is a two and one half hour delay through security, and I have at least a 30 minute drive to the airport, even if I was down stairs and ready to go right now, which I’m not. My flight now is Monday at 8:00 am from Newark Airport. How I’m going to get there is anyone’s guess. I have two options I think. I can try to get a hotel room at the Newark airport and go there this weekend and then take the airport shuttle or I can arrange for a driver to take me to the airport on Monday morning from this hotel. I have to be there by 6:00 a.m. for an 8:00 flight. I have no idea how much the driver would cost. The whole thing is, do I do it now and have the opportunity to get up a wee bit later on Monday or do I stay here and hope I can arrange a driver for early early Monday morning.
This is not a good vacation. Are we having fun yet? No I don’t think so.
Mother has a doctor’s appointment on Monday. I have no idea what time. But maybe Pat can pick me up at the airport before he goes to work. Then, I have to some how get the car from Juries so Sarah and I can leave on Tuesday morning for Florida. Perhaps it would be easier for me to put Sarah on a flight to Lauderdale from Waterloo, and me to just go from here. Who knows.
I have to wait another hour before I am in the hotel’s system so I can even do anything else. This is so not fun. I couldn’t call mother last night because I am not in the system, therefore I can’t charge anything to my room. The pay phones were down last night when I tried to call, but it would have to be collect, but everyone has those stupid phone company answering machines and I can’t leave a message with a collect call. I got a number to dial for emergency breakthrough but that company won’t accept my credit card. I guess they know I won’t be home last night. Mom and Sarah’s line has the answering service, Pat has an answering Machine. Ellen and John have an answering service. It seems to me one can have too much technology and be screwed in an emergency.
Right now I am really angry with them. I am taking it as a personal snub. I know they didn’t think about this when they signed up for it, but right now I can’t help my feelings. And right now, personally, I’m not sure I want to. I am angry, and lonely, and depressed. And I want to be home, but right now I don’t want to be home because I want to make them worry about me. There, I’ve said it. And too bad for them.
I have a room in the Newark Holiday Inn for tomorrow night. I joined the priority club so if Sarah and I want to spend a night or two in a Holiday Inn on the our trip, we can have a discount of 20$. I’m feeling some better now. I thought I’d lost my credit card, and had a bit of a weeping jag, but I found it. I thought I had made the Newark reservation for the wrong night, but when I called back to check, I found I hadn’t made the reservation at all. I know how it happened but gad I feel stupid. Now I just have to figure a way to the hotel in Newark. I can pay by credit card, the trip will be 75$ plus tax, and then the credit card company fee on top of that. I expect it will be 100+$. Then I can take the shuttle to the airport. It runs 24 hrs. I’m still hoping to contact Katie. Maybe she will be willing to come and pick me up tomorrow and take me. That would be nice. I really would like to meet her. Who knows when/if this is going to happen. I am feeling somewhat better now, although not exactly at 100%. I need tidiness in my life. And it is coming, slowly but surely. I don’t have it all yet for this trip, but I’m feeling better than earlier.
2:00 pm Saturday
I just talked with Mother, Sarah and Pat. I am feeling very much better now. They will be at the airport to pick me up on Monday. Mother’s doctor’s appointment is at 2:30 that day, so from the airport to the doc’s office and then down to the car rental place to pick up the rental car for the trip to Florida. We spoke for about 20 minutes, I have no idea what that’s going to cost. I want to get in touch with Katie too, yet. I keep hoping that maybe she will come and pick me up tomorrow and take me to Newark. That is a big lot of stuff to ask of someone you have never met. I hope she will be willing to make the offer. Maybe I won’t ask. If she doesn’t offer, I’ll call a cab. By then the ATM machines will be up and running and I can get money. I hope.
Pat has a cold beer waiting for me in the refrigerator at Mother’s. He said he won’t take it away. Good, I think I’m going to need a cold one when I get there.
Sarah, bless her heart was crying with relief. I know exactly how she felt. I wanted to cry too at the sound of her voice. Pat sounds so very grown up. And acted so too. He had my ticket and seat reserved for me on the flight that left this morning. Unfortunately there was no way I could get there. Two more days in New York. Suck. Suck. Suck.
2:30
Just talked with Katie, she is going to pick me up tomorrow and take me to Newark. I love that woman already. I have to be out of here by noon, and I can check into the Newark Holiday in after 1:00. So things should go fine now. I may even have a beer or two with dinner. Later tonight, after dinner, I’ll try to connect on the internet. At 9:00 New York time, it will be 5:00 Kuwait time. Maybe I can even talk to Master today. For sure I’ll send Him an email.
My world is looking brighter, phew!
Thursday, August 21, 2003
We are in a motel just off I-75, near a village called Arabi, in Georgia. It is not a bad place. It used to be a Budget Inn, but a couple bought it and are running it themselves under the name of Morris Inn and Suites. $32 plus tax a night. Two queen beds and all the other standard accoutrements, but no phone in the room. Thought that a bit odd, but then really, who were we going to be calling. We drove 558 miles on Tuesday, and 568 miles yesterday. So we are well on our way. Today we have maybe another 2 or 3 hours in Georgia, and then the rest in Florida. I haven’t really decided if we are going down to see Aunt Lovey first, before we go to Lauderdale, or if we are going to stop on the way back. I think on the way back will be best. That way we can spend a whole day there. Leave early Monday morning, get over to Bradenton, spend the day with her and maybe see Uncle Woody, and then stay over night some place and head for home on Tuesday.
Mother made me promise we’d be home before the holiday weekend. I said we’d try to be back on Friday, but if we go back through Alabama to stop and see Tobie, and then in Cape Gerardo to see Michelle, whose phone number I don’t have, but as soon as we get to the motel tomorrow night, I hope I can connect and get, it may be Saturday before we are able to be home.
Sarah stopped smoking the day I arrived in Waterloo. Tuesday night she was a bit ouchie, I am hoping from the nicotine withdrawal. Yesterday she was in a good mood all of the day. We are driving long hours, with the only stops being for bathroom breaks and gas, I imagine it is boring for her. I wish I would have talked her into a book so she could at least read in the car. I set up the laptop for her last night so she could play solitaire, but the cards are too small and she can’t see them. Tonight I’ll see if I can change the configuration of the screen and to at least make the games bigger for her. We watched most of the movie Backdraft last night but she was zonked before the end, and I was fighting to keep my eyes open, so I shut it off, just before 10. I took a sleeping pill last night because I had been waking up just about two hours after falling dead straight to sleep and then not being able to go back. It helped some. I woke up at 1 this morning, but didn’t have any music running in my brain. I feel back to sleep and woke up again about 4. Managed to sleep again, and woke up for good at just passed 5:30. It’s just after 6 now, I’m trying to decide if I should let her sleep until the alarm goes off or wake her.
We are going to pick up some Fresh Georgia peaches and pecans and maybe Vidalia onions to take to Claudia and West. And then on the way home pick up some more for Mother and Eileen and Pat’s. I think she is awake, there is movement over there.
We drove through some pretty heavy rain spots a couple of times yesterday. Both times a smart person would have pulled over off the road and waited it out. I had a big truck in front of me, but couldn’t see what was behind me, so I just made sure I kept my distance from the truck. I don’t believe we were in either rain shower for more than 5 minutes either time. But they were down pours. There is a lot of road work going on. In Illinois we had two or three detours, but yesterday was just slow driving.
Sarah does the navigating. We have the mapquest print out and every time we pass one of the directions she ticks it off and reads me the next leg of the journey. I am not sure how far we will drive today, but I would like to get really close to Claudia’s so we can get to her house tomorrow in the morning. We won’t be able to check into the motel she has for us until after 3, but that will be ok. I’m going to go look at the atlas now and see what I can suss out.
Thursday, August 22, 2003
We are in Ft. Pierce, Florida tonight, about 2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale. We are in a Holiday Inn Express, and went to Red Lobster for dinner. Tonight we are living large.
At one rest area in Florida we saw two great blue herons walking and squawking in the parking lot. We have three pictures of them. They were so very neat. I put them on the computer for Sarah to see. She was amazed that we could do this. We are going to sleep in tomorrow. I called Claudia and told her we’d be there between 11 and 12. We called Mother. She sounded good.
Eileen and Dennis are in Monaca until Sunday. I don’t know if they are planning on being home on Sunday too or not. Mother doesn’t know when Eileen has to be back at work.
I have to talk to Claudia tomorrow about getting connected with AOL or something so I can use the computer while we are traveling on the way home. This is ridiculous, I have this computer and cannot use it for the internet. I have asked Tobie to get in touch with me by email with a phone number, but I can’t even call her because I can’t get on the internet because of no access. Sucks big time.
More tomorrow.
On the way to the airport yesterday morning, I told Master I had a bad feeling about this trip. We were a bit late taking off, I think about 45 minutes, but once we got into the air, the trip went really well. I kept trying to figure out what was the difference. I really do believe it was because I was in business class. I will work very hard not to have to fly coach on an overseas flight ever again.
It seemed to me that we were late in Heathrow, but once we got back in the air again, the captain came on and said he expected we would be landing in New York’s JFK about 6:15 pm only 15 minutes late. We landed 5 minutes before 6, early even if the flight had been on time.
Then the fun began. The captain said there were some electrical difficulties and because of how busy JFK was, we were being asked to wait on the plane for a while. The ‘awhile’ we were asked to wait ended up being 90 minutes. We managed to land in New York at the beginning of the GREAT BLACKOUT of 2003.
I got through immigration with no problems. Then Janice and I went to collect our bags. There was no electricity in the airport, which meant no A/C and the conveyors for the luggage didn’t work either. That meant that luggage was unloaded off the plane manually, and the brought into the terminal. There the skycaps unloaded the luggage onto the floor and there was a mad scramble to find your. That took another 90 minutes at the minimum.
I had a trolley, Janice had three bags, I shared with her and we went on to customs. We did the honest thing and declared the dates from Abida. They were confiscated. So much for being honest. I found the Kuwait information desk and got my voucher for a room in the Holiday Inn JFK. I was directed to the passenger loading area A and told to wait for the shuttle bus to the motel. That took another hour. The passenger loading area was gridlocked with parked cars belonging to people who were waiting to pick up arrivals off the plane. I tried to phone Katie on her cell phone to let her know I might be a bit later than I expected on the way out to the waiting area. The phones weren’t working.
The bus came, and it took about 25 minutes to load all the luggage. There was an Indian family of five, and they are allowed 2 pieces of luggage each, and by heck they were going to use it. They had 10 bags. Heavy bags. The shuttle bus was filled with baggage and people, but at least it was air conditioned. We go to the Holiday in, not a light on the street, but many cars. Another 20 minutes to unload the shuttle and into the lobby of the hotel. This is where the fun began.
The first thing I saw was three male members of the flight crew arguing with the desk clerk. Then I saw, or rather heard the loud obnoxious man who had nearly started a fight at the waiting area. He, apparently has been just about everything, from a member of the university swim team to the manager of a hotel. He was arguing with another of the desk clerks about why they had no rooms. Every hotel has extra rooms. We had reservations made by Kuwait Airways. Call them and ask. The phones aren’t working. What’s that you say? The phones aren’t working? How can that be? I can hear phones ringing all the time, You’d better be careful what you say sir, you are getting caught up in your own lies. And on, and on, and on, ad nauseum. I stepped back away from the counter. I figured that one of two things was going to happen. Either we got our rooms, or we’d be seeing some of New York’s finest. We saw the police. The man quieted down, a bit.
Eventually, the night manager was called and she gave us the grand ball room. Divided in half, one side for men, the other for women. She called in some engineers, when did the hotel business get so PC?, and they started bringing down beds and rollaways and carts filled with sheets and blankets and pillowcases. She ordered towels and soap and told us we could shower in the health club. Since living in Kuwait I have learned to sweat, and a shower to me, was worth it’s weight in gold.
I got out my caftan and walked out of the ballroom and proceeded to get lost. I’ve done that often recently. One of the engineers took me in hand and escorted me all the way to the health club. He even walked in with me and made sure the lights were on. It’s a good thing he did, because the door to the women’s shower room was locked. He unlocked it for me and then set the lock so it could only be opened from the inside. As we were walking down to the health club he said he hoped this wasn’t going to be like the blackout back in the 60s. The kid was maybe 20, but that’s only if his birthday was Wednesday. He was a very sweet kid, and I when I thanked him, he said he was only doing what his mother had taught him. Who says New Yorkers are cold? I have met some really nice ones.
I took my shower, cold water only, because by this time the power had been off long enough for all the hot water to have been used, brushed my teeth and made my way back to my sleeping quarters. At first I was sharing with only two other women, both Muslim. I learned some interesting things last night. One of them being that Muslim women don’t believe Americans can get sheets clean. Both of them opened their suitcases and pulled out sheets for their beds. They laid the sheets over the bed clothes already on the bed. I guess that explains why Kuwaiti’s need 4 suitcases each when they travel. They did remove their head covers, but nothing else, not even the sleeves that go under the sleeves of their clothes so nothing shows past the wrist.
By this time I was dripping wet again. The air in the grand ball room was very close. The advent of A/C also brought about windows that don’t open. And of course we couldn’t have to doors open to try to get some air moving through that way. No, no, some men might see us sleeping. Just as I was about to doze off, about 30 minutes later, we began to have even more fun. Apparently other airlines had sent transit passengers to the hotel without bothering to check if there were rooms available. I’m not making a blanket statement here, but the American women who shared sleeping arrangements with me last night were quite rude. Did I mention we couldn’t turn off the lights in the ballroom? These women were quite noisy, I don’t believe they even tried to lower their voices as they prepared to sleep. And some of them complained that they had to sleep on the floor, while “Those women, over there, got beds.” Seems to me they should have just been thankful as hell to have someplace to sleep. All in all, by the time morning came, I think there were 17 of us. And one male who tried. He was an older man, so I’m sure he just followed his wife, he was told in no uncertain terms to leave.
I woke up for good about 4:30, I think. I was so hot and miserable. I went across the hall to a rest room and rinsed off. I learned from the Taiwanese to always carry a small towel in the cosmetic bag. Then returned to the ballroom and got dressed. I went took my bags and went out to the lobby. I had decided I was going to secure a table in the lounge area by the front door. I wanted to be able to see the clock, I will never travel again without a watch, I wanted to be close to the front desk so I knew what was going on, and I wanted to be up and near the door to get some air.
Soon another women came in, and we started talking. Until this time we didn’t know the extent of the power outage. She had flown up from Atlanta on Thursday for a meeting, and was supposed to fly back that same night. She didn’t even bring a toothbrush. She had waited 3 hours the night before for a room. We talked a bit more and she said her boss was trying to get her on another flight out today. If she couldn’t fly out today, he was going to come in from Long Island to pick her up and take her to his house until she could get back home. She asked me if I wanted to use her room to get some rest. I must have really looked bad. She said she had a second bed in the room and I was welcomed to use it if I wanted. I took her up on it.
Since there was no electricity, the receptionist couldn’t make a key for the room. The night before, an engineer had to go unlock the door for her. When she left to come down in the morning, she didn’t shut the room, she pushed the safety latch closed and then closed the door. She had nothing there but her brief case and she figured if anybody wanted it, they were free to have it. Then she left and I slept. The room had sliding glass doors, which we managed to get open about 3 inches. I got some breeze so I slept quite well for about 2 hours.
I went back down to the lobby to find her. The management had figured out how to prepare a buffet breakfast and I had a voucher from the airline. I just heard the first plane take off. It’s just passed 6 pm. I went in and fixed a plate and then went outside to find her. She had just gotten done talking to her boss. He was still working on a flight home for her. She was supposed to call him back at 10. We talked some more and then decided to see if I could just take over her room when she left. We went into the front desk and asked, and that’s how I got my room. The woman said I’d have to come back later and make sure the room hadn’t been booked by someone else for today and that gave me a few anxious moments, but since the airport only just opened up again, I think I am safe for tonight. I will check out tomorrow about noon, and continue with the rest of my trip home.
I am debating if I can make the drive to Florida for Claudia’s wedding. I suppose it will be alright. I’ll have Sarah to keep me company. I still haven’t been able to call home and let them know I’m not coming. I’ll keep trying for a while tonight. I have just about decided that I am not going to travel ever again. This sucks.
Saturday, August 16, 2003
It’s 5:50 am. I just called Northwest airlines and have discovered that my flight is leaving today at 7:30 am. Unfortunately I am not going to be on it, because there is a two and one half hour delay through security, and I have at least a 30 minute drive to the airport, even if I was down stairs and ready to go right now, which I’m not. My flight now is Monday at 8:00 am from Newark Airport. How I’m going to get there is anyone’s guess. I have two options I think. I can try to get a hotel room at the Newark airport and go there this weekend and then take the airport shuttle or I can arrange for a driver to take me to the airport on Monday morning from this hotel. I have to be there by 6:00 a.m. for an 8:00 flight. I have no idea how much the driver would cost. The whole thing is, do I do it now and have the opportunity to get up a wee bit later on Monday or do I stay here and hope I can arrange a driver for early early Monday morning.
This is not a good vacation. Are we having fun yet? No I don’t think so.
Mother has a doctor’s appointment on Monday. I have no idea what time. But maybe Pat can pick me up at the airport before he goes to work. Then, I have to some how get the car from Juries so Sarah and I can leave on Tuesday morning for Florida. Perhaps it would be easier for me to put Sarah on a flight to Lauderdale from Waterloo, and me to just go from here. Who knows.
I have to wait another hour before I am in the hotel’s system so I can even do anything else. This is so not fun. I couldn’t call mother last night because I am not in the system, therefore I can’t charge anything to my room. The pay phones were down last night when I tried to call, but it would have to be collect, but everyone has those stupid phone company answering machines and I can’t leave a message with a collect call. I got a number to dial for emergency breakthrough but that company won’t accept my credit card. I guess they know I won’t be home last night. Mom and Sarah’s line has the answering service, Pat has an answering Machine. Ellen and John have an answering service. It seems to me one can have too much technology and be screwed in an emergency.
Right now I am really angry with them. I am taking it as a personal snub. I know they didn’t think about this when they signed up for it, but right now I can’t help my feelings. And right now, personally, I’m not sure I want to. I am angry, and lonely, and depressed. And I want to be home, but right now I don’t want to be home because I want to make them worry about me. There, I’ve said it. And too bad for them.
I have a room in the Newark Holiday Inn for tomorrow night. I joined the priority club so if Sarah and I want to spend a night or two in a Holiday Inn on the our trip, we can have a discount of 20$. I’m feeling some better now. I thought I’d lost my credit card, and had a bit of a weeping jag, but I found it. I thought I had made the Newark reservation for the wrong night, but when I called back to check, I found I hadn’t made the reservation at all. I know how it happened but gad I feel stupid. Now I just have to figure a way to the hotel in Newark. I can pay by credit card, the trip will be 75$ plus tax, and then the credit card company fee on top of that. I expect it will be 100+$. Then I can take the shuttle to the airport. It runs 24 hrs. I’m still hoping to contact Katie. Maybe she will be willing to come and pick me up tomorrow and take me. That would be nice. I really would like to meet her. Who knows when/if this is going to happen. I am feeling somewhat better now, although not exactly at 100%. I need tidiness in my life. And it is coming, slowly but surely. I don’t have it all yet for this trip, but I’m feeling better than earlier.
2:00 pm Saturday
I just talked with Mother, Sarah and Pat. I am feeling very much better now. They will be at the airport to pick me up on Monday. Mother’s doctor’s appointment is at 2:30 that day, so from the airport to the doc’s office and then down to the car rental place to pick up the rental car for the trip to Florida. We spoke for about 20 minutes, I have no idea what that’s going to cost. I want to get in touch with Katie too, yet. I keep hoping that maybe she will come and pick me up tomorrow and take me to Newark. That is a big lot of stuff to ask of someone you have never met. I hope she will be willing to make the offer. Maybe I won’t ask. If she doesn’t offer, I’ll call a cab. By then the ATM machines will be up and running and I can get money. I hope.
Pat has a cold beer waiting for me in the refrigerator at Mother’s. He said he won’t take it away. Good, I think I’m going to need a cold one when I get there.
Sarah, bless her heart was crying with relief. I know exactly how she felt. I wanted to cry too at the sound of her voice. Pat sounds so very grown up. And acted so too. He had my ticket and seat reserved for me on the flight that left this morning. Unfortunately there was no way I could get there. Two more days in New York. Suck. Suck. Suck.
2:30
Just talked with Katie, she is going to pick me up tomorrow and take me to Newark. I love that woman already. I have to be out of here by noon, and I can check into the Newark Holiday in after 1:00. So things should go fine now. I may even have a beer or two with dinner. Later tonight, after dinner, I’ll try to connect on the internet. At 9:00 New York time, it will be 5:00 Kuwait time. Maybe I can even talk to Master today. For sure I’ll send Him an email.
My world is looking brighter, phew!
Thursday, August 21, 2003
We are in a motel just off I-75, near a village called Arabi, in Georgia. It is not a bad place. It used to be a Budget Inn, but a couple bought it and are running it themselves under the name of Morris Inn and Suites. $32 plus tax a night. Two queen beds and all the other standard accoutrements, but no phone in the room. Thought that a bit odd, but then really, who were we going to be calling. We drove 558 miles on Tuesday, and 568 miles yesterday. So we are well on our way. Today we have maybe another 2 or 3 hours in Georgia, and then the rest in Florida. I haven’t really decided if we are going down to see Aunt Lovey first, before we go to Lauderdale, or if we are going to stop on the way back. I think on the way back will be best. That way we can spend a whole day there. Leave early Monday morning, get over to Bradenton, spend the day with her and maybe see Uncle Woody, and then stay over night some place and head for home on Tuesday.
Mother made me promise we’d be home before the holiday weekend. I said we’d try to be back on Friday, but if we go back through Alabama to stop and see Tobie, and then in Cape Gerardo to see Michelle, whose phone number I don’t have, but as soon as we get to the motel tomorrow night, I hope I can connect and get, it may be Saturday before we are able to be home.
Sarah stopped smoking the day I arrived in Waterloo. Tuesday night she was a bit ouchie, I am hoping from the nicotine withdrawal. Yesterday she was in a good mood all of the day. We are driving long hours, with the only stops being for bathroom breaks and gas, I imagine it is boring for her. I wish I would have talked her into a book so she could at least read in the car. I set up the laptop for her last night so she could play solitaire, but the cards are too small and she can’t see them. Tonight I’ll see if I can change the configuration of the screen and to at least make the games bigger for her. We watched most of the movie Backdraft last night but she was zonked before the end, and I was fighting to keep my eyes open, so I shut it off, just before 10. I took a sleeping pill last night because I had been waking up just about two hours after falling dead straight to sleep and then not being able to go back. It helped some. I woke up at 1 this morning, but didn’t have any music running in my brain. I feel back to sleep and woke up again about 4. Managed to sleep again, and woke up for good at just passed 5:30. It’s just after 6 now, I’m trying to decide if I should let her sleep until the alarm goes off or wake her.
We are going to pick up some Fresh Georgia peaches and pecans and maybe Vidalia onions to take to Claudia and West. And then on the way home pick up some more for Mother and Eileen and Pat’s. I think she is awake, there is movement over there.
We drove through some pretty heavy rain spots a couple of times yesterday. Both times a smart person would have pulled over off the road and waited it out. I had a big truck in front of me, but couldn’t see what was behind me, so I just made sure I kept my distance from the truck. I don’t believe we were in either rain shower for more than 5 minutes either time. But they were down pours. There is a lot of road work going on. In Illinois we had two or three detours, but yesterday was just slow driving.
Sarah does the navigating. We have the mapquest print out and every time we pass one of the directions she ticks it off and reads me the next leg of the journey. I am not sure how far we will drive today, but I would like to get really close to Claudia’s so we can get to her house tomorrow in the morning. We won’t be able to check into the motel she has for us until after 3, but that will be ok. I’m going to go look at the atlas now and see what I can suss out.
Thursday, August 22, 2003
We are in Ft. Pierce, Florida tonight, about 2 hours from Ft. Lauderdale. We are in a Holiday Inn Express, and went to Red Lobster for dinner. Tonight we are living large.
At one rest area in Florida we saw two great blue herons walking and squawking in the parking lot. We have three pictures of them. They were so very neat. I put them on the computer for Sarah to see. She was amazed that we could do this. We are going to sleep in tomorrow. I called Claudia and told her we’d be there between 11 and 12. We called Mother. She sounded good.
Eileen and Dennis are in Monaca until Sunday. I don’t know if they are planning on being home on Sunday too or not. Mother doesn’t know when Eileen has to be back at work.
I have to talk to Claudia tomorrow about getting connected with AOL or something so I can use the computer while we are traveling on the way home. This is ridiculous, I have this computer and cannot use it for the internet. I have asked Tobie to get in touch with me by email with a phone number, but I can’t even call her because I can’t get on the internet because of no access. Sucks big time.
More tomorrow.
