-And despite all of this, you still can't flush toilet paper here. The more I think about this, the more baffling it becomes. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on a first-rate facility and yet, you guys can't make the pipes a little wider? Do Brazilians not even put this on the wishlist?
-My crowded flight to Miami has me packed in with dozens of families on their way to Disney World. Now that I'm past that age, I can't imagine going to Disney. Do American kids still want to go there or is it prescription drugs all the way these days? If you're not in Disney's demo crosshairs, they are a strangely quiet giant. Regardless, Brazil could probably keep Disney World in business if the US kids stop calling. Brazilians really, really, really want to go there.
-I'm seated next to a hefty 12-year-old girl from Argentina (I'm assuming by the Spanish) who is clearly on her way to the Magic Kingdom. I'm on the aisle and she's in one of the two middle seats. As a man who lives on the aisle, I'm quick to cut the middle folks some slack when it comes to space and the shared armrest, but the minute you start creeping into my space, it's over. This girl was all over my area. Eventually I had to throw some elbow jabs to keep her on her side of the fence. I know flying sucks, sweetheart. None of us are happy. Get used to it.
-Argentina. What else do you expect?
-The Miami Airport is a disaster. Avoid whenever you can. I know my way around these places and even I spend 20 minutes waiting in a wrong line. I hear numerous employees whispering to each other about how chaotic the place is this morning. Apparently no one has their act together and they know it.
-Saved by a shower in the American Airlines lounge. Just stick my head in. It's enough to clean me up. After an eight hour flight from Brazil and a two hour flight ahead of me to DC, I need to be ready to go directly into work. The half shower makes it all possible.
-Mom picks me up from DCA. We go immediately to the shoe store to buy a couple of pairs. This, like haircuts, is one of the last few things I'm still hesitant to buy in Brazil. Rack Room keeps me together.
-Five Guys. Just as good as it ever is. I think this is my fourth consecutive US trips where Five Guys is my first meal on the ground.
-The office for a few hours.
-Meet up with some of the old Wednesday night gang, this time on a Monday. Moments like this:
Picture this sign in front of a restaurant dive bar where you would never ever order a Lebanese Shrimp Pita, because that's where it was.
-Within 24 hours of arriving in the States, it's obvious how everyone appears to be in some stage of grappling with the flu. Pull it together, America. And vaccinate your stupid kids.
-Snow hits early Tuesday morning. More than the dusting that was expected. Immediately, the city goes into a panic and rightfully so. Some school systems make the last minute call to cancel. Others, namely the massive and all-powerful Fairfax County, do not. The result is a disaster for commuters. Accidents everywhere. Two students seriously injured. One hit by a car that couldn't stop on the ice. Fairfax County issues an official apology later in the day. Since then, they've been mighty quick to hand out the delays.
-Stay in Tuesday morning before work. Parents and I exchange Christmas presents. Hey, whatdoyouknow, it's a White Christmas.
Just like the ones I used to know.
-Tuesday night, watch the wedding video with the family. Dani Skypes in so she can be there with us during it.
-Wednesday and Thursday are both 15-hour days at work. The reason I'm in the US. Friday is another eight hours of meetings. From there to the airport. Like one long 72-hour day punctuated by brief spurts of sleep.
-Hit the Five Guys in DCA before boarding an 8:00 pm flight to Charlotte. Get the upgrade to first. My favorite thing about the DC to CLT flight now is that it goes right over my hometown of Danville. The first time I noticed that lone spot of urbanity below I thought, "Hey, that could be Danville." I looked closer and it was. There's the river. The movie theater. Riverside Drive. The factory. 58. 29. This flight I looked down from the night sky, but it couldn't hide from me. The curve of the river. The two bridges. Hello, old friend.
Leaving the DC area out into Northern Virginia. It's easy to forget how pretty flying can be.
-Land in the Wilmington Airport for the first time. It's like the lobby of a nice Holiday Inn. Then I round the corner and see this motley crew:
According to Kate: "Some people just walked by, saw our signs and said, 'Aww.' I'm like, 'If only they knew who Daddy is.'"
-Also at the airport is another familiar face. One of my old co-workers from my job at the UNCW on-campus computer lab circa 2005-6. Demanding work where I made a pretty $6/hour for sitting in a chair and taking people's IDs. I told her I still worked there and for a second, she believed me. Not sure what that says about me.
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-Every year since college, my friends and I have gotten back together for a Thanksgiving celebration. Sure, this year's was in January (just like last year's), but it doesn't matter. We take this event seriously. It's one weekend-long party no one wants to miss. The last few years we've gathered in Greensboro, NC. Then Black Mountain, NC. Then Chattanooga, TN. This year, it's back to the Dub where it all started.
-A rented house. Potluck meal. Re-appropriated dining room table. Karaoke. Kiki's banana pudding. An announcement of a newly-expected baby. Carolina Panthers playoffs. A long debate over whether or not we should leave the house. It's mighty good to be back in North Carolina.
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This.
-Flaming Amy's before leaving. There's simply no going to Wilmington without it.
-ILM -> CLT. CLT (delayed) -> DCA.
-Ryan Keiper picks me up and takes me home. We have dinner with my family and then it's out to his car for a stick-shift driving lesson. I'm renting a manual later this month and have never learned how to drive one. I figure it will take some getting used to, but should be no big sweat. People drive these things all the time.
-Woah, crap! It's much harder than I expected. What is going on? Between this and no antilock brakes, how did people survive getting out on the road prior to 1980. The past, you sicken me.
-The next morning it's back to the airport. This time to Miami again and then back to Brazil. Argentina girl isn't next to me this go round round, but to no one's surprise, the family I'm sharing a row with did just come back from Disney. Brazil, you never disappoint, do you?
-Watch Boyhood on the plane. Put this stupid blog down and go see it. What a great concept. Not a perfect movie by any means. That doesn't matter here. As a former boy myself, watching actor Ellar Coltrane's progression through life's first twists and turns was enough to keep me on the verge of tears the whole ride. Should this not win Best Picture, just go ahead and set fire to your car and house because there's really no justice in the world.
My boyhood.
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