June 21: Odyssey

Dear Friends and Relatives,

You know how a return is so daunting (logistics, etc.), but of course it had to be undergone!  It did not help that a stupid person at the hotel we were staying at in Dublin set off the intensely strident fire alarms not once, but three times during the night, as he was desperate for a smoke and tried to dismantle the smoke alarm.  So the breakfast room at the hotel was crowded with guests who gave up trying to sleep late and decided to have a relatively early breakfast.  At 8:15 the taxi came and a nice man who had once played soccer for Ireland took us to Terminal 1, where Paula and I parted, since she was off for a Ryan Air flight to Paris, originating from Terminal 2.  I actually had the good fortune to be checked in almost immediately, and even security went smoothly.  I had about a 1 1/2 hour wait, and then we boarded via gangplank, my favorite way to board a plane and a reminiscence of my mother and I stepping on one when I was about 3.  My mother was wearing a tweed suit, gloves, and a hat, and I had a little rainslicker on and was clutching Gaga, my little Steiff bear.  Ah, the days when travel still had panache!  They might never return!  However, the imagination will hold them fresh!!

At Heathrow, after a 50-minute flight from Dublin, it took about an hour to transfer from Terminal 5 to 3 and negotiate all the checkpoints and security stations.  My passport alone must have been checked at least five times.  

The flight to Dallas was full, and lasted about 9 1/2 hours.  I watched several films I hadn't seen in a while (most of them musicals): "An Affair to Remember," "An American in Paris," "Anchors Away," "Hello, Dolly," and the beginning of "Carousel." In between, my body did not appreciate being caged so long, and I got antsy several times!  What to do?  You are essentially a captive audience in what amounts to a flying cigar!  "Mind over matter" had to be my constant mantra!   

Finally, we arrived at DFW Airport.  The passport check-through is now automated, so that process is much faster.  And my luggage showed up on the conveyor belt, so I was happy.  However, the customs lines were extremely long, so it was about 8:30 p.m. when the shuttle picked me up.  The driver had six people to drop off, and I was the last.  Hart was still up, and I had some cheese and crackers and pomegranate juice before taking a quick bath, taking out my contacts (mercifully, as I had worn them over 24 hours), and collapsing for a rather restful, uninterrupted sleep until about 6:00 this morning.  

I am about to be off to take care of the mundane stuff that needs to be done following every trip.  My next entry will be on June 28, as I start my sojourn in San Francisco.  

It's been another one of those bracing, monumental trips, full of stories, memories, new friends and acquaintances, and incredible sites, aided and abetted by upcoming photographs and the unfailing power of memory!  Stay tuned!  As ever, Sylvia

Sylvia M. Venable, PhD

Instructor, German

St. John's Episcopal School

Dallas, Texas