Home ... and reflections on out-of-home experiences

It is about 8:30 p.m., and we've been home about 9 hours. The side effects of all-night travel are about to bushwhack me at the computer. While Abbie sits in the living room playing the piano---Remember? Being away from the piano was her main concern at being away from home so long---I valiantly struggle to stay awake a little longer.

The trip from Arkansas to Newark to Lisbon to Madeira was uneventful (no delays, no missed connections); can't quite say that the "bureaucratic details" were uneventful, though. Wednesday night about 10:00 I called Continental to confirm our reservations for our 10:30 a.m. flight on Thursday from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. The initial information was that Abbie's reservations were good all the way to Madeira; my name was not on the passenger list at all! It was only 20 minutes and 3 Continental employees later that I was assured I could get to Newark with Abbie.(She wasn't keen on going without me...I wasn't keen on letting her.) However, Continental could not say whether we (I, that is) had confirmed reservations on the Portuguese airline TAP from Newark to Lisbon and on to Funchal. We should call TAP, we were told.

We tried. At 11 p.m. (midnight EST), TAP had no personnel to answer the phone at Newark, and there was no way we could talk to a living, breathing correspondent at the other end of the line. We would have to call Lisbon, but the web site said their call center would only open at 8 a.m. (Lisbon time). So Joy and I set our alarms to wake up at 2 a.m. to call Lisbon. The living, breathing voice assured us that both Abbie and I were confirmed all the way to Madeira. My mind was at ease, but my body did a poor job of resting the precious few hours left before we had to get up and go.

It was when we got to Newark that we got entangled in the web of miscommunication again. The TAP employee there got us seats together on the flight to Lisbon (not the case initially), but she informed us she couldn't give us a seat assignment for the last leg of the trip "because the bags are only checked as far as Lisbon!" It was only 20 minutes and 3 TAP employees later that the matter was resolved, when I showed the baggage claim stubs indicating the bags were indeed checked all the way through to Madeira. For a while I had dark thoughts about standing in Lisbon waiting for baggage that would never stop there, because it had been tagged to go all the way through, then trying to resolve the problem of "lost" baggage with the check-in counter at Lisbon. Thus, in spite of such minor hiccups, we arrived home as scheduled.

Reflecting on the last 6 weeks


Family --

We cannot think of the weeks since Christmas without recalling family experiences of one sort or another: Christmas with the kids and grandkids, Abbie and her sister spending 10 days at their parents' house, weddings (2), and countless other occasions. All four of us siblings together (me with my brother and 2 sisters)has been a very rare scene over the past 30+ years. We were together in August, and now again at my nephew's wedding. There was an added blessing of visiting with our cousin, Frances (she's the short one!), whom I have seen very, very rarely since we were teenagers.

As I contemplated on these moments, I thanked God again for family, and that we have families (both Abbie and I) that enjoy being together. I thought of those who don't have that kind of family relationship, and felt sad because of what they're missing.

The Superbowl --

For those around the world who may not know, this is the championship game that is the culmination of the professional football (American style, of course) season. Played on a Sunday in late January or early February, this ranks right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas as a major American event. It's not an official holiday, but the hype in the press for a month in advance, and the publicity campaign (advertisers paid $2.6 million for a 30-second spot this year) generate so much interest that churches even cancel Sunday evening services, or schedule showings of the game at church as a family or outreach event. This, too, we were experiencing for the first time in over 30 years. It's similar to what other nations go through during the World Cup in soccer, and takes on the flavor of a religious event for many. But in perspective: isn't it really nothing more than a football game? I couldn't help but think of many for whom all the show must be an empty, vain display. "Vanity of vanities..."

My friend Mike --

The very weekend we would get to be in the US on Superbowl Sunday, we were getting the news from our life-long dear friend and brother in the Lord, Mike Rogers, confirming he has follicular non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Our church is and will be praying for Mike and Debbie, who visited Madeira 7 or 8 years ago. This picture of them was taken about 2 years ago in the middle of a Wyoming winter.

How does news like that change one's perspective on the relative importance of things and events in this life? Is the outcome of a Superbowl game (or any other sports event) really so important in the light of eternity? I know Mike would be the last to say that this world, as God's creation, is not to be enjoyed. He has often sent pictures of flowers and other aspects of nature he came across. I even included one of his pictures in a posting, which you can see here. Mike has always believed that every aspect of life can and should be enjoyed under the gracious hand of God, including NASCAR events. I think he's right, although NASCAR is not my cup of tea. The world around us is full of wonders and experiences God would have us enjoy; it's news like Mike's condition that helps us keep them in the proper perspective.