Back in the USA
Much as I hated to leave the Shire and its dear little Hobbits, early this morning I headed for the Grey Havens (which were very, very gray at the time) and embarked for home. Pure Middle Earth gave way to Virgin Atlantic (still a bit hobbit, but a high-tech sort of hobbit) which in turn gave way to San Francisco. I was pleased to find, upon landing at SFO, that home is still here. I'm not all there, though. I mean, I'm a bit "zoned."
Shoe inspection report: I have to say I expected a bit more scrutiny. After I cleared the metal detector, I was asked by the inspector to "show me the bottoms of your shoes, if you please." Satisfied that no fuses were sticking out of them, he waved me on. You'd never notice, but English people have a horror of looking ridiculous, so the procedure must have been extremely difficult for some of them. For my part, I will always cherish the following image: a line of six perturbed Britons, each standing on one foot and looking over the shoulder anxiously at the inspector as they tried to keep their balance. A bit rummy, what?
Posted by Dr. Frank at January 9, 2002 08:04 PM | TrackBack