| Seven
members of the Fairfield Church of Christ are scheduled to fly out of
San Francisco International (SFO) at 9:50 P.M., July 21, 2000.
We are on our way to Miami to join others from Tennessee, Oklahoma
and Kansas on our way to Guyana, South America.
Those from Fairfield are Dr. Mike Moshier, his son Sean, Pat
and Ben Bezzerides, Jason Santiago, Andrew (Drew) Denton, and myself.
Sean, Jason, and Drew are teenagers. Dr. Moshier is a family
practice physician. Pat and I work with Solano Christian Academy
and Ben works for Budget Rental.
For
months we have been getting immunization shots and passports, repackaging
donated medicines, and preparing sermons and Bible school lessons.
Travel time from Fairfield
to SFO is about 1 hour not counting traffic.
We need to be at the airport about 2 hours before scheduled takeoff. We need to allow time for heavy Friday commute traffic. We decide to leave Fairfield at 4:00 P.M. (Ben
doesn’t want to be late.) We arrive at SFO at 5:00 P.M. (The Diamond
lane removed all traffic slowdowns.)
Our flight finally leaves the airport at about 11:00 P.M. We learn really early how to waste time at airports.
I never cease to marvel at coincidences. My next-door neighbor shows up to meet some
of his family two gates down from where we are, and a doctor friend
from my Unocal days walks by and recognizes me and stops to visit for
a minute.
The highlight of the evening is provided
by Jason Santiago’s parents who drive down to the airport to bring all
of us Kentucky Fried Chicken and tell Jason good-by.
Interestingly enough, the only USA fast-food places we will see
in Guyana are Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut.
(I don’t know how they compare because we were not allowed to
eat anything we didn’t bring from the States unless it was provided
by the hotel.)
Our flight out of Miami is scheduled to leave at 1:30
P.M. Saturday, so I am thinking a good night’s sleep would be a great
idea. Since I don’t sleep especially well on airplanes,
I gladly accept Dr. Moshier’s offer of a sleeping pill. I wait until they are serving the first round
of refreshments before taking the pill, but I underestimate the amount
of time needed for it to take effect on my virgin system. I am told that, after I spilled part of my orange juice, I then
inserted a finger into the liquid in the manner of Mork from Ork but
failed to lower the level by this procedure.
I guess sleeping in an upright position in a drugged state must
be very entertaining to observe because Drew still breaks out in laughter
when he recalls the trip. All
I know for sure is that I arrive in Miami very refreshed and the rest
of my traveling companions do not.
I do regret missing the midnight snack though.
Lanny
Partain
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