And so it is…we leave as we came, and our time was good.
But the moment Roma leaves the big picture, the problems begin to snowball. An explosion in London delays our flights, rerouting some people and just leaving some of us to wait and sleep at the terminal. Mid-escalator, my laptop bag slips from my grasp and proceeds to roll halfway down the ramp, stopped only by the violent kick of a stranger below. Does it still work? Hopefully. My luggage was lost by the airline: a roll of paintings constituting my entire semester’s worth of work, one of which I was hoping to sell to alleviate the financial burden of not having any money save for the 60 euro in my pocket when I re-enter the United States. Currency exchange was CLOSED, so I couldn’t turn euro into dollars. I am stuck in Philly with nothing but luggage and 60 EURO. My lack of a way home from Philly International Airport to State College forces me to lug around five FIVE heavy bags and all of my layers of hot clothing around the airport to someone who could lead me to the pickup spot for a reluctant stay at an expensive Days Inn miles from the airport, to where I must return in the morning to take a taxi to the Greyhound station downtown. I had forgotten, in a drunken stupor days ago about the kit kat that had melted in my front pocket and the pixy stick that had broken in my back one and decided to wear these pants in transit across the Atlantic. Genius.
Some good things. At the Days Inn, I watched MTV as I sorted through my luggage to rearrange and reassess travel damage. Luckily, before I left the airplane, I stole one of those socks/toothbrush packs to replace what I threw away in Rome before I left. So I had fresh, clean socks and minty minty breath as I slid into one of the most comfortable and satisfying sleeps I have ever experienced. And then…. an American medium-rare steak and eggs breakfast in the morning. See you all soon. Arrivederci.
PS. These snow-topped mountains are so beautiful. And I already can't stand my brother, had to say.
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