FLIGHT DAY

'It's a book!' I exclaimed as the agent proceeded to take my Before I Go To Sleep book out of its plastic Ziploc bag. I first made her change her gloves after informing her I have a dirt phobia. I'm no Howard Hughes but I like my books and other items to stay as clean as possible. Everything in my travel camera bag is separated into smaller Ziploc bags for ease of access as well. I then asked her if I could remove the contents of my bag. I could not.

I am sure she was able to sense my annoyance with the procedure. I am also sure she did not like my asking her why she needed to dismantle my bag. 'It's on a need to know basis' was her reply. Well, I need to know why you think a book is a weapon, I thought. Afterwards, I walked over to a shop and lamented the book search to the store clerk. She offered an insightful reason that someone might cut out the inner part of the book and store something dangerous in it. It made sense. I've seen this in movies but the thought never occurred to me, especially in a carry-on.

On the entire flight to New York I watched the Food Network channel. I watched the last three or four episodes of the Chopped Teen Tournament. I was astounded at the dedication and focus the teenagers exhibited in addition to the meals they created. One 16-year old girl stood out as I heard her describe her difficult life growing up in a split family - her parents having divorced when she was 3 years of age. She went on to explain having to spend alternating weeks with each parent. It reminded me of my children and their having to go through a similar experience.

Most memorable of what the girl said in regards to her life growing up was about never having seen how love in a relationship works. This is what I hope is different in my children's case. My hope is that with the new relationships of both us parents my children will learn about love. As a young teen, Sequoia was wise beyond her years. She went on to say we are not a product of our circumstances and life is what you make it. 'Take any obstacle that you get, get over it, and move on' - wise words from Sequoia.

I am aboard the Aer LIngus flight now getting ready to take off. There are no power cords for my laptop albeit Wi-Fi is available for purchase. As I entered the plane, I was confused as to why I had to show my boarding pass again seeing how I just had it checked by the agent. The attendant looked on the pass and informed me of the location of my seat. Once again I was confused as I can clearly see the letters and numbers and 13A was close to the entrance. No worries as I am on my way to Shannon - only 5 1/2 hours away.