A less than three hour flight home is a pleasant novelty compared with multiple flights totaling fifteen to twenty hours in the air over two days. We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule at 3:00 p.m. and I was at the condo less than an hour later, in time to shower and await Carol’s return from her office. When she commutes by train she comes through the door at 6:18. I had the makings of martinis waiting.
I had a Basic Economy fare on United, which means you board last, can’t pick your seat or have a normal size carry-on bag. No problem for me with only my messenger bag. It was really cheap, and the shuttle from Marathon to the Miami airport and the taxi from O’Hare home cost as much as the flight itself.
When I left in January the trees were bare. Now they are not. We have lived in this condo since it was new eleven years ago. The trees in front have grown so that they now reach above our third story windows. It has been windy here and the limbs are in constant motion. Last evening while waiting for Carol to come home, I was listening to a
shuffled non-classical playlist and a piece came on called ‘Creole Sunshine’. I glanced up and the leaves were dancing in time to the music.
I’ve watched the Cubs win the past two nights and Manchester United win the Europa League Final yesterday afternoon. I’ve also ordered online a lot of the stuff on the GANNET list.
Today is warmer, but yesterday when I walked to nearby shops it was 53ºF/11.6C, precisely half the temperature in the Great Cabin when I returned from lunch Sunday, and I wore socks for the first time in months and a Polartec jacket.
Even though I had been in the country for a week before flying home, it seems odd that GANNET and I are both back in the United States. I’m used to thinking of GANNET being on the other side of the world. And it is odd to look out at the tops of dancing trees rather than water.
