3/11/2012

I Can't Get There From Here


Well this trip is off a really, really bad start at Philadelphia airport.  And, it has nothing to do with the clocks moving ahead one hour.
My travel voucher gave me a United Flight Number.   So arriving at the airport I pull into garage D, quickly found a parking space and move into the very short security check-in line.   When I get to the FSA  person, I am told that I do not have a boarding pass.  I need to leave the line and go to US Airways.   US Airways  is the carrier operating the United Airlines flight.  And they are Terminal C.

Lord help me.

So, I dutifully leave terminal D by exiting and walking over in the brisk air into Terminal C.  I check in and discover that I will have to go to Terminal A for the actual flight.  Gate 22 to be precise.  And, the woman behind the counter tells me to utilize one of the moving vehicles the rest of the way.  It is almost at the end of the airport, where the international flights leave from.

So, let me repeat.

I am parked in Terminal D parking and am leaving from Terminal A.

Now you might think that this means maybe I should have had someone drive me to the airport.  It  would not have mattered.  I still would have headed upstairs to the Terminal D United check in and been in the same situation.  The walk across the concourse was the easiest and fastest part of the morning.

Now, I am sitting and writing this while waiting for takeoff .  There is no one else in my row, so I am spreading out.

OH, I forgot.  I usually travel Southwest.  You k now, no baggage charge (US Airways is $25) and you seat by number and pick your seat.

So trainable am I that I utilize the first open compartment space near an aisle seat and sit down.  Did I forget to mention that there are assigned seats?  So up I go and find my seat 6 rows back. 

So spoiled am I that I now am cringing about my return trip via Piedmont and Continental.  What nightmares will I have about marching around between terminals.

So Gary, you asked me to come back rejuvenated and inspired.

My inspiration is to drive or take the train.
Kathryn, I know that you are laughing at your Mother.

Oh, now they charge for any snacks.  You gotta love flying US Airways.  Thank goodness for my granola bar.

3/10/2012

Sometimes Time Marches Too Quickly

This is the first time that I have gone to my blog to write in a long time.  So, I am now encountering new changes that Google has made to Blogger.  I probably will be spending time understanding what they are and how it will affect habits formed since 2008.

And, the new "simple" privacy policy? 

The past couple of months life has been hectic but rewarding.  Lots of things going on around me.  In February, the Diocese of Delaware held it's 227th Convention in Dover.  This event, the auditors and other pressing work had left me brain dead, figuratively and literally.  So, I followed that event with 10 days of visiting family and friends in Florida, staying on both coasts and enjoying great weather.  I am determined to make this an annual two week trip for the next couple of years.

Prior to leaving on vacation, The Rev. Canon Simon Mein passed away from complications from injuries received in a car accident returning home after convention.  Simon was a friend, colleague and mentor for the 17+ years that I knew him.  He and his wife Nan shared many conversations, though not as many as I now wish.  In fact, it is Simon's blog Simon Surmises that has a place on the Source of the River. Sooner or later, I will have to remove this link, but I am not in a hurry to do so.  Simon's Memorial Service was held in the chapel at St. Andrew's School while I was away.  Headmaster Tad Roach's memorial can be found under the chapel tab.

While I was away, the Rev. Jeanne Linderman  passed away.  Another friend and colleague that I have also known for as long as I have worked in the Bishop's office.  Her obituary in the Wilmington News Journal and the eulogy by The Rev. Canon Lloyd Casson are recommended reading.  Jeanne's work as the first female priest ordained in Delaware, her social justice work as a lay woman at St. Andrew's, the major role she played as a bridge in the coming together of the folks from St. Matthew's and St. Andrew's and the mother of six are just a few of the major accomplishments of this woman.  I was lucky to have known her.
 
I also attended the Memorial Service of my former boss, friend and colleague Chuck Elter.  The years I spent at McBride, Shopa and Co as a CPA were made the better by knowing Chuck and I will miss him.  It was bitter sweet to come together with old friends and reminisce about those days.

A week ago, I attended the Order for the Burial of the Dead for Anne Eldredge Harris, the mother of The Rev. Canon Mark Harris.  Mark, for those of you following my journey the past several years, was one of my three wise men who persuaded me that I should go to Sudan and work for The Episcopal Church of Sudan.  I never met Anne, a former practicing doctor, though Mark spoke of her often, of her art work and her poetry.  Her service was wonderful.  What I learned about Anne's computer generated artwork can be found at her website The Computer Generated Artwork of Anne Eldredge Harris.  Please visit  because you can not fully understand without going on line.  What is more, is it began after Anne came to like at Cokesbury Village over 25 years ago.  Both her professions of doctor and artist were well known at the Baylor College of Medicine.  Imagine a life where re-incarnation is possible while still living!

So, with all of that I am looking forward to a mini-working retreat at The Kanuga Conference center in Hendersonville, NC outside of Asheville, NC.