The Flights

I've had a history with U.S. customs. Each time I've returned to our nation after spending time abroad I've been detained several hours. Reasons for this have varied depending on who I am talking to. The first time it occurred it was because I have a "common" name. I was given the impression that they were worried someone (read terrorist) could sneak in to the country using my name since it was so "common." For those that know me (blond and white), this seems like it would be a bit obvious. Fortunately (or not), we have a fairly thorough unit manning our borders.

I was fairly surprised when it happened a second time. The given excuse that time was that they were "looking for someone with my name." One would assume that since I had been previously detained a few months prior that their computers would denote this and it would be an easily resolvable affair. Not only was I wrong but I was chastized when, quoting the previous officer, I asked a new officer why I was detained. That, I was informed, was none of my business and no officer should be giving out reasons for my detention. My desire to return home was greater than that which wanted to partake in a sarcastic retort. Being at this officer's discretion I rightly figured the better way was the higher path and kept silent.

These incidences have created an apprehension within me. I expect to be stopped by customs and thus have to plan for it. When I was booking my return flights I spent $40 more to take a later connecting flight in Newark because I was afraid I wouldn't have made it through customs yet. This in turn created another series of events to which I will shortly return.

My voyage home was far from a staid affair. I flew home on Air India. I thought it was odd that they had a flight from Paris to Newark but the ticket was the cheapest available so I took it. Naturally it never dawned on me that the flight was Mumbai to Newark and Paris was the refueling stop to pick up more passengers and let others off. For as unforgiving as I was about flying on Air India (one of my fears was that they'd only have Bollywood movies on the flight), it turned out pretty cool, which just goes to show you what preconceptions are good for. My rating system might be different from others but when you have movies like Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, and Dial M for Murder to choose from on your in flight movie screen, you're running a damn fine airline. The fact that the seats were comfortable and the food was good were just added niceties next to Bogie.

Since I had allowed myself extra time to get through customs without missing my flight, it of course turned out to be a breeze. I made it through everything and was waiting for my next flight no more than an hour after I landed. I got to sit in New Jersey for the next two hours waiting on my Air Tran flight to Atlanta and then on to Dallas.

Continuing on with my life's trend, my flight from Newark was late. The two hour wait turned into almost three and a half (this was particularly unnerving since I could have taken an earlier flight to Dallas via Charlotte on U.S. Airways). Miracle of miracles, however, I made my 11PM connecting flight to Dallas after landing in Atlanta at 10:47PM. It was my first time to run in an airport. No one had any stop watches out but, I was like the wind that night. The last thing I wanted was to spend the night in Atlanta's airport after being awake for 24 hours. I just wanted to get home as scheduled.

When I landed in Dallas I didn't have a high school band waiting for me playing "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow." It was just my sister. After being away for so long, Sarah was a very comforting sight even without a brass section.