Balance, Air Travel and Other Random Thoughts

Thanks to Suerk's comment on the last post I have come to a grand realization. The past week's trip to Nippon was one of balance. I love the idea of balance and for my own life it is something I do strive for but most of the time I move very quickly back and forth between the highs and lows and call this balance instead. And I do think now that I have achieved a bit of emotional balance, at least as far as Japan is concerned. My 2005 was a year of education and experience and once I learned it I had to leave it behind. This trip back reminded me that this was indeed a lesson learned and not one I need to continue learning forever. Today when I watched the country disappear from the window of the airplane I felt good. I want to return but for now I need to move on to the next new experience! Thanks Suerk for putting words to what I was feeling.

Suerk, by the way, taught me English in high school - and he continues to teach me even 30 years later. He also directed the best damned production of Godspell that has even been.

It's almost 2 am. I had 5 hours of heavy sleep after being awake for 26 and am in the getting over jet lag mode big time. It's just plain weird that I left Tuesday August 29 at 11:25 am and flew for over 10 hours and arrived in Chicago Tuesday, August 29 at 8:40 am. As always the trip there was fairly easy to get over within a day but the trip back has messed with me big time. A combination of Back to the Future and Groundhog Day.

An interesting thing happened on the flight from Chicago to Atlanta. There were a lot of young Navy guys at ORD today and about 9 of them were on my flight and seated around me. They were very young - early 20s max, and headed back to Pensacola. When we landed in Atlanta the cabin attendant made the announcement about the weather and current time in Atlanta and please remain seated until the plane has come to a complete stop and then recognized our military personnel on board and thanked them and wished them Godspeed and the whole plane broke out in applause. As we waited to get off the plane they began talking amongst themselves about how good it was to be back in the south with support. One kid was talking with another passenger behind me and I heard him say that he came from a town that was totally anti-military and had had an anti-war rally just the weekend before and it was so good to be back where people were pro-war. I wanted so badly to turn around and tell them that indeed I and the majority of this country support everything they do but that they should not confuse this with support for war. I hate war and I hate the man that put us in this mess all the while invoking the name of God. He is no better than the terrorists in this respect. But I love and support the women and men of the military that carry out his orders and put their lives on the line. These kids were equating respect for the military with support of the war. I should have had my little gentle say with them. I did not. I was far too tired.

I found a new vending machine coffee in Japan and have decided this must be the national drink there. I brought back 4 cans just in case I wake up feeling too happy