It occurred to me somewhere off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia that this was now the farthest distance I had ever been away from any location I have ever called home. Sure, I have a lot farther to go, in fact that observation came around 3 am GMT, when I was only about 1/2 way to my first of a half-dozen destinations.
Another simple illustration of my travel infancy was my seatmates on the two flights so far. Traveling to Cincinnatti the topic of convesation was my final destination, and everyone who was connecting to flights bound for Fayetteville was very impressed. contrast that with my seat companion onmy next flight, when most of the plane may not have been US citizens, and certainly all had traveled before. my seatmate was actually born in Zimbabwe, and was returning to see family now in Uganda aftter working as a nurse in minneapolis for several years. I do't know if I can fathom how large teh world is physically, but I definately know how big it is commercially. Whenever it takes 5 planes to go from point A to point B, and more than 1 of those is an overnight, your destination might as well be on another planet. You certainly won't feel human upon arrival.
As for me, the trip was pretty easy if long, and I was treated to the latest (and oddest?) pairing of the siblings Cusack. Look up "martian child" onimdb and just seefor yourself. Kudos Amanda Peets.
So what did I actually do in London on day 1? basically i just tried to stay awake. in doing so, I had a lovely walk through most of the remarkable Hyde park, saw the nearby Wellington Arch, as well as Trafalgar Square and buckingham palace. my "vegas luck" held and I happened by at the exact moment of the changing of the guard. I have long been a fan of good drill teams, precision marching, etc. but let me just say, some maneuvers make you look silly, no matter how many civilizations you repress, or how big and furry your hat is. All empires have their pomp, but when stoic soldiers skip like Red Riding hood, it loses some of that ferocious cultural imperviousness that would otherwise define this 5 o'clock whistle drill.
more from London yet to come, just watched Chelsea (adopted home team and passion for my brother and current landlord) lose the European Cup to manchester in tense last-minute penalty kicks.
Tough to watch, but it makes my cheers of "Go Spurs" all the sweeter. We're very competitive in our proxy sports.
2 comments:
The guards skip? Really?
And hiiii Ryan!
-Lani
yeah, they totally skip. Not so much when marching (the US "change step" looks like a skip too, but serves the useful purpose of changing the L-R cadence of the march), but when the royal guards to their "halt" command, which of course they do regularly, they make a point of having both feet in the air for a moment, and it's that moment when it becomes difficult not the chuckle. I'm OK with the hats, tradition and regalia all have their place, but the skipping is just Plain-Ole-English-Silly.
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