On The Write Path

On the way to México

The day before: drama.

Had to move plants from Senior Center on no notice. Now in a north window where I live. Got Lochsa pothos back to her. Planted daffodils after dark. Potted two rescued geraniums as well. Rescued cannas sitting in paper bags. Watered everything.

Cleaned very little. Unplugged things. What did I forget? Does it matter...

Called for ride. Checked in and filled out form for México. Made copies.

To bed late, around midnight, after a shower. Set alarm for 03:50.

Decided to wear white pants on plane since brown ones kept falling down. In morning put on everything laid out, including compression socks. Drank milk with coffee. Got downstairs just as shuttle arrived. 04:25.

Wonderful ride! Rita is from Burkina Faso. Her mother was visiting and along for the ride so we spoke in a mix of English and French.

Not too many people in line so I was lucky. Flight was set for 06:00. We arrived early.

MSO SLC: I sat next to Ruth who is my age. She's commander of a local American Legion. She served in Vietnam at the time of Tet. We talked about trauma and vets. She is of the opinion that the sudden return home didn't allow many to decompress and made situations worse.

Ate breakfast at Manchu Wok. Server was an Afghani who speaks Russian. Just ate eggs and tater tots. Good thing too! No free food on plane other than snacks.

SLC MEX: Seat was changed from 14a to 10a. Plenty of legroom and no one next to me. Delta stewards were very nice. Plenty of coffee and snacks.

Going thru Customs was easy-peasy. I got pesos and went looking for a bus. Women from Otavalo, Ecuador helped. Got off at Venezuela and Argentina and walked through the Zócalo. Walked staight to hostel at 86 Uruguay. Much easier than I planned. It was early afternoon, about 12 hours after getting up.

Sight: Dry mountains of empty northern México
Sound: hurdygurdy playing in DF
Smell: coffee
Taste: cinnamon
Touch: alpaca turtle neck