The joys of international flight

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

DETROIT (Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, 2 p.m. CDT) – The 19 hours in the air from Guangzhou to Detroit, including time spent at airports in Guangzhou and Tokyo, has taken a large toll on Pam and I.

Simply put: We are tired. Drained. Exhausted. We got virtually no sleep on the Guangzhou to Tokyo flight and the Tokyo to Detroit flight. We don’t feel good. And we are ready to go home.

Now we are stuck in Detroit for another six hours waiting for our connecting flight to Jackson. And to make matters worse, the best place we could find for food was Fudruckers.

Just how much of a challenge was today’s flights? Well consider these facts:

In flight meals: These were terrible, horrible and completely tasteless compared to the food served on the way over to China. Bland eggs for breakfast. Nasty chicken for lunch.

In flight films: Nothing to write home about here. “The Women,” which sucked. “Wall-E,” which sucked. A few television shows, which sucked.

Sleep deprived: Pam and Matthew were so tired that they fell asleep waiting in the lounge area waiting for our flight to Jackson. Matthew slept on the seats, Pam on the hard floor.

Restroom blues: When Pam woke about an hour or so before our flight left, she decided to use the restroom. Minutes later, she rushed back to the waiting area breathlessly to tell me she was so tired she didn’t realize she used the men’s room until she left the stall and noticed urinals lining the wall. As she told me, a gentleman who apparently was in the same restroom passed by laughing and waving to her.

The joys of international flight. Can’t wait to get home.

Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.

Pam, Matthew, Terry arrive home tonight

** Adoption countdown: Pam, Terry and Matthew are on their way home. **

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

SOMEWHERE ABOARD NORTHWEST AIRLINES (Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, 10 a.m. CDT) – Pam, Matthew and I should be approaching Detroit at this time, ready to land in the United States and make Matthew a U.S. citizen.

After an afternoon layover, we will board another plane for a trip to Jackson.

As I said in previous posts, we are scheduled to arrive on Northwest Flight 2978 at 9:21 p.m. on Thursday night, Dec. 18, 2008, at the Jackson-Evers International Airport.

If you can make it there, great – we’d love to see you. If not, that’s OK – you’ll have a lot of time to meet Matthew.

Pam, Matthew and I, however, want to let you know that we appreciate your thoughts and prayers and that we are glad you took time to follow this intimate and personal journey through our Web site.

God bless everyone – and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will try our best to do the same.

Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.