22 May: Homeward Bound

I had my last breakfast under the ministrations of the Italian breakfast room ladies – all three of them come by to wish me well and hope I’ll be back soon, an orgy of hugs and pats.

An African gentleman, a heavy wool overcoat over a multi-colored smock, was checking out at the same time I was, and when he discovered that I was waiting for a cab to Heathrow, we agreed to share the ride. It turned out he was a minister from Ghana, who had been on a speaking tour in England for Christian Aid Week. We had a lot to talk about on the ride to the airport – he’s particularly interested in women’s issues (“Educate a woman, and you educate a family. Educate a family, and you educate a society.”) and runs a startling array of programs. What he thinks is most effective are the small loan programs that allow women capital to start in-home businesses, capital which is paid back and not considered charity. The confidence that women gain from business success ripples out into their relations with family and the community at large. He was a gentle, patient man who is familiar with many worlds.

The process of check-in at Heathrow unfolded like a morality play – they cunningly entrapped annoying people into longer lines by suddenly opening up “special” lines that self-centered jerks elbowed to get into and that ended up being twice as long. I still had two hours to kill by the time I waded through it all. The gate area wasn’t open yet, so I settled into one of the few couches set up along the hallway. A young German man came to sit beside me. We struck up a conversation – it turned out that he is finishing a degree in biotechnology, so there was lots to chat about. He was headed to Canada to visit relatives for the summer. The wait passed quickly and pleasantly.

The plane was half empty – between us, me and the guy on the other end of the aisle, had five empty seats . The difference that it makes, not being cheek by jowl with strangers for hours on end, and able to stretch your legs whenever you want – it was the fastest and easiest flight across the Atlantic I’ve ever had. And back home again.

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