Monday. Day 8.
Well, once again, Matt, Alison, Cheri, Buddy, and I were rushed through the night. It took us almost an hour and a half to reach the airport from the Metro church. By the time we reached the airport and said our goodbyes to Aazoo and unloaded our bags, it was after Midnight. Buddy’s plane left earlier and from a different terminal, so we dropped him off first, leaving the rest of us as traveling companions for the first half of our trip home. Our long, loooong, journey lay out ahead of us.
We were all so fatigued; we just kept putting one foot in front of the other until we reached our boarding gate. We got duped into paying some guys next to the curb twenty US dollars for taking our bags to the front of the line. Once we got to the front of the check-in line, the ring leader informed Matt that it was $20 per person and there were three of them! We were all so tired and didn’t want any arguments, so Matt, good guy that he is, coughed up $50 and told them, “That’s it!!” They accepted it and we moved on; waiting in line to have our bags screened; waiting in line to fill out the Immigration declaration form; waiting in line to go through Immigration; waiting in line to go through the security screening; waiting in the chairs at the gate; waiting…
We finally boarded the plane at 2am. The airplane was packed full and everyone was trying to get settled for the nine hour journey to London Heathrow. I have to tell a funny story here (well, it wasn’t funny at the time, in fact it was quite horrifying. But, it seems hysterical in the re-telling and I’ve guffawed over it several times, I guess I just have a sick sense of humor or something; it was kind of like a scene out of a bizarre Monty Python skit)…
So…, the cabin lights are still up full and the airline steward comes over the loud speaker, in his perfect English accent, and announces in a calm, rational voice that we might want to cover our faces and noses as they are going to spray the cabin with a pesticide that kills bugs but is not harmful to humans! Cheri was located across the aisle from me and we turned to each other and both mouthed the words at the same time, “Spray for BUGS!!??!!” I thought it was a joke, but no, he came back on the overhead and announced that they would begin spraying momentarily.
It got really, really quiet on the plane; no one made a sound. Of course I’m replaying his announcement in my head and wondering if it’s possible that a pesticide (being an inanimate, unintelligent chemical without reasoning ability) could determine the difference between insects and humans. I was still pondering that possibility when the spraying began…
I heard it first (and I wish I could put sound effects on this site right now) as a soft “pssssssssst” sound growing louder as the steward walked down the opposite aisle toward our seats with the spray can pointed toward the ceiling, and growing softer as he retreated toward the back of the plane, and then the same thing as he came up our aisle. Of course, once he came into view, I put the pillow over my face and stayed that way, not just for 30 seconds as he had initially suggested, but for 2 minutes after the spraying had stopped!! He didn’t just go up and down the aisle once, but THREE times!!! I braved the atmosphere and looked up at one point and the cabin was filled with a heavy, white mist; back into the pillow! I have never heard a plane full of people so silent. It was like something from the Twilight Zone…
Lights out, dinner served and over with, everyone tried to relax and grab some sleep. Some were successful and some were not, choosing instead to watch movies, and/or read, and snooze when possible. It was so crowded and close that I felt stifled and unable to rest into sleep. I remember sitting for hours, too tired to do anything, and too wonder- and Spirit-filled from all of our experiences, and so I sat staring at the little T.V. screen in front of me. Kind of shell-shocked.
I watched as it showed a real-time path of the plane across a world map, charting its journey from Mumbai to London; first a birds eye view and then a closer look at bodies of water and cities as we crossed over them, then back to a listing of cruising altitude, miles/kilometers travelled, hours to destination, outside temperature, tailwind; all in several languages and script. We crossed the Indian ocean, the Baltic sea, the Caspian sea, the Black sea, and whatever sea it is between the Nordic countries and Britain; across Arabia, Russia, and Europe. All familiar names from taking geography in school, but still just outlines on a map with no real association or seeming reality.
I found myself wondering what life was like for those below us, unaware of their fellow humans so high above them in the air. Millions and billions of people, all individual in God’s eyes, all part of His creation, no matter how well we all get along or not! All of us with a purpose and plan in His Heart. He’s a big, compassionate, understanding, loving, Father, and in His Infinite Patience alone, He’s worthy of our unending praise!!
We stumbled off the plane and made the long walk from Terminal 4 to our next points of departure. I said my goodbyes and wished safe travel to Matt, Cheri and Alison with promises that we would all see each other again, and made my way to the tram to get to Terminal 1. It seemed impossible, but coming back this way, we would make the journey on the same day, making 30 hours of travel seem like only 9 hours later. Settled in Terminal 1 in plenty of time to board the plane, I visited the duty free store and bought lots of yummy English chocolates and goodies to bring back to my very British family (I was born in England to British-raised parents). I was sure they’d appreciate, and maybe even expect, the surprise!
Upgraded to British Airways World Traveler Plus, I stretched out, with plenty of room having two seats to myself, took a Tylenol PM, and a long nap. Hours later (maybe 3 or 4) and refreshed after a nice, long nap, I felt compelled to write down things to remember to write about and things to remember to do when I got home. The memories flowed and ideas came to me quickly as I jotted down what I would need to attend to next. I realized that with so much that had happened and so full of God’s Blessing, it would take me weeks to process and integrate it all. Nearly there now and touchdown in Los Angeles. A leisurely walk to the next terminal and onto the plane headed to Yosemite International Airport (Fresno Air Terminal to the locals). Almost home.
Michael meets me first and then we wait as Spencer departs his Portland plane from his visit with his Oregon cousins. We rejoice to be together again and chat happily while trying to speak at once and share what has happened in our time apart. Into the car as we journey home toward the mountains. They look so beautiful, majestic, and welcoming in the distance.
As we near home, being whisked into the night in silence once again, I peer out the window into the darkness as the familiar landscape passes by, watching while India retreats further and further from my mind. Like a dream now, only the memory, depth, breadth, and wonder of experience will live on. I am home and with my family at last where I belong, and yet, the locale has lost some of its luster. God has expanded my vistas and views, and blessed me with a new family of friends on the other side of the world to whom I will belong as well, and will always tug on my heart…
