Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Packed and Ready (As I'll Ever Be)

Photo Description: Vintage tri-coloured wooden suitcases, stacked and packed.
It's a travel day today.

Though I look forward to arrival and forward to the things that are scheduled, it's this day I dread. I've spoke to a couple of disabled people today who are at the point of evaluating the true cost of travel. Not the monetary cost. The cost of that comes from being disabled, having to rely on the discretionary kindness of airport and airline personnel. The cost that comes from anxieties about chairs in airplane holds - will they come back up broken, will they come back up at all? The cost that comes from simply needing a bit of time and being surrounded by passengers who have no time to give.

It's travel day today.

I wanted to write something different this morning. Something more important than this long moan. But my mind is full of the 'oh no what happens nexts' that come with travel. I aim for the other side, for getting in the car (will it be the one we ordered because we needed, not wanted, it?). I have visions of our time there.

I distract myself with thoughts of the best Chinese food restaurant in the world ... the Wing Lum cafe.

I distract myself with visions of driving up Polk Street.

I distract myself with the knowledge that we have time to get to the ocean.

So, in the end, I can't write a blog today.

I will see you, on the left coast, tomorrow.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Travel safe!

Julia

Colleen said...

Happy travels, Dave! May all go well.

clairesmum said...

Safe travels, Dave and Joe!

Princeton Posse said...

Hope you find nice weather! Lots of new wet snow here.

ABEhrhardt said...

Especially when all this is preparatory to arriving somewhere ready to speak and participate.

When I go to Mexico to vacation or visit family, I expect to arrive in full collapse mode and not have anyone bother me except to feed me - for up to several days. It's that exhausting.

Praying for you to get everything you set up so carefully. Customer service is crucial for lots of people - and you have a very long chain of them to go through.

It's not as if you plan to show up to the car rental counter, and say, "What do you have?" and settle for the best of that. I miss those days.

Anonymous said...

Wishing you a smooth and pleasent journey. Wishing hard.