They made it!

It took them a long time...years, in fact. Mom came to visit us twice (in 1982 and 1989), and she always wanted to come back. She wouldn't come by herself, so my brother and sisters and spouses said they would come with her.

This picture was taken upon their arrival in Madeira at 7 p.m. today. They were supposed to have arrived at 11:15 this morning, but a short connection at Lisbon caused them to miss the last leg of the trip. Then, wonder of wonders! They were told they had to have paper tickets to continue their trip. Of course, they only had e-tickets. They were trapped at the airport. They were in a bureaucratic limbo. It took the better part of 6 hours to get the problem resolved, with phone calls to the States, and "everybody" at the Lisbon airport involved. When the new shift came on duty in the afternoon, my brother started to explain the situation. "Oh, I know all about you," was the reply. Indeed. The Potter clan had descended on Lisbon, led by Ma Potter, a seasoned gang leader of some 92 years and 9 months of age. After 9 hours in the airport they were allowed to board a plane for the final 1-and-a-half hour flight.

Reminded us of our first flight to Portugal in December 1973. After flying across the Atlantic all night, we landed in Lisbon about 8 in the morning and had to spend the whole day in the airport before arriving in Madeira at 8 o'clock that night. Some things don't seem to have changed in 32 years. Welcome to Portugal.