Sunday Traveling Day Busy

I am without sleep after flying all night to Detroit, where I have a connection to Boston in a few hours. I could have had better connections, but it seemed short connections or hours, and I picked the sure thing of a later connection. The sun is rising over DTW as I write this.

Only Chick-fil-A has coffee, and I am not that desperate.  It also has long lines. The Qdoba spicy breakfast bowl was my choice. I talked to Deborah, who is also starting her day. It is good to be in Detroit again, even for just a few hours.

All flights are packed, and the airport is busy, but security in PDX was light late Saturday night. I had no events. I was in seat F, which means my unhearing ear is towards everyone. I was not able to speak with my seatmates except for a few words shouted when I turned my head to hear.

Sunday started with me rising at 7ish to freshly made coffee (I had gotten the assembly done the night before and pushed the correct button to enable the alarm to make coffee). It was a church day, and I started writing the blog with a loose time box since church isn’t until 11. I wrote the story on Saturday and published the next installment of the blog soon after. I showered and then assembled my luggage for my trip. I had a late evening trip. I had to pull a sweater and a pair of pants from the bag to make things fit. Those were moved to my carry-on. Now dressed and packed, I was ready for church. I boarded Air VW the Gray (which I had charged for an hour during the day, thinking I was taking it to PDX and leaving it there for a week). I would get it back into the 80s.

I ushered at church. Dondrea was preaching, adding a bit of Southern Baptist flavor to the service. The music was familiar, and it was stuff we had sung at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Dondrea, recalling the sermon we heard in Atlanta: there are things we need and things we want, and we get them mixed up. That we also confuse the chaos of the world with what is important, love, and, though she did not use this word, clarity.

Much of the flooring for the refresh is now in place, and it looks marvelous. The rest of the floor is this holiday week!

(an idea?)

I head home, drop the tie, and nap. I do get some chicken from Popeyes for lunch. I talk to Dondrea and take an Uber to the church for the Charge Conference meeting. Dondrea will take me to Matt’s and PDX later.

We have a quick, mandatory, but prefunctory meeting on money, positions, and membership. We have no controversies, and it is quickly done. We had to find a room as the refresh is mixing up room usage. It will be grand when it is completed early next year!

Dondrea takes me a bit early to Matt’s place. The other players appear, and Matt cooks us burgers before the game. We are playing Dungeons & Dragons 2024 and are 7th level. We are reworking an old AD&D adventure set in Egypt and a fantasy complex in a pyramid. I have the original, but remember it was not a favorite.

We are enjoying it, and Matt has his 3D stuff out for this. Matt informs us that we’re on the same track as the other players (he has multiple groups playing the same stuff), but we, unlike them, manage to backtrack and fight more creatures from these missed locations. I can see Matt trying not to laugh at us. Still, it was fun, and we are slowly figuring things out.

It reaches 8:30ish, and my ride is already here. We wish each other happy holidays. Matt and my fellow players all got a pencil from the Carter Presidential Library (Niki got a sticker from the King Center). Dondrea takes me to the airport, and we are caught in traffic at PDX. I get dropped off, and soon the usual processes are followed, and no mistakes (leaving my phone at the bag tagging stations) or searches (my suspenders get me searched, but my bag is good). And soon I am at the bar getting a beer. I was watching a YouTube video and realized I had closed the bar. It closes at 10. I get a smile from the bartender as I say, “That’s a good way to start a trip; closing a bar!”

I watched the new Superman movie, nodding off a few times. I liked it the first time, and I like it again. Recommended.

That takes us to the next day. I landed in Detroit and found my next flight. But then I was offered $$$ to give up my seat…I did.

But that adventure is ongoing while I write this. More in the next blog! I really appreciate all the help from Delta with this process, an unexpected adventure!

Thanks for reading!