I woke up at 3AM in Kansas City, the equivalent of midnight here in Alaska, and groggily got myself and my stuff together, cutting it closer than I liked to getting on the 3:45 shuttle bus to the airport. It turns out that the timing was perfect, since I came down to see that Barbara (one of my two closest friends at these Readings) was getting ready to board. Thus we were able to travel to the airport together and have breakfast together before heading to our gates.
I want to take a moment and mention Barbara and Cameron (whom I often just refer to as my friends on these posts) because they have been the shining lights of these experiences. We met on the first two days of each of our first Reading back in 2015 in Salt Lake City and have been able to meet each year (sometimes with gaps such as the two COVID years) almost as though no time has passed. We communicate occasionally through the year, but especially when information about the next Reading is made available.
Barbara is one of the most gracious and kind human beings I have ever met. Although she is a veteran teacher, she has a vivacious enthusiasm that makes me feel old in comparison. She is continually looking to experiment and innovate in her classroom and her life, leading me to do so as well. She is also a fantastic companion to push people beyond their comfort zones and experience new adventures (even if some, like an unmentioned Ethiopia restaurant, were better left un-experienced). When walking the halls of the Reading, it is common to have people shout out her name in enthusiastic greeting.
Cameron is also an amazingly compassionate human being. While he might not be as gregarious as Barbara and I, he can certainly hold his own in any conversation. He, too, is an explorer; although, he usually applies a more scientific-like method to how he decides what activities to pursue. He is also more rational than I, leading me to think more logically about my own practices as a teacher from a standpoint of the greatest benefit for my students. Most importantly, he has been willing to put up with me enough to be my roommate any year a roommate has been required after the first year that we met.
I believe that both of them managed to make it home without difficulty. I, on the other hand, hit multiple snags. Most of them were tied to Alaska Airlines' system crashing this morning. This delayed both of my flights with them. Thankfully, I had enough time in each layover to make the next flights, but Seattle presented me with a unique challenge: nothing on the computer monitors (including the Alaska Airlines app) was correct. I was fortunate, my actual departure gate (which stated that it was a flight to Oklahoma) was at least in the same terminal that the computers said that it was--if on the opposite side. I am tremendously grateful to all of the gate employees who had to deal with such chaos (at one point, my app gave me three messages about gate changes simultaneously--each to a different and incorrect gate).
Ravyn did not fare better. Just as I was receiving my boarding pass (they don't have electronic ones), a group of passengers came up saying that the 5PM flight to Kenai (my flight) was cancelled and that they needed a new booking for the next (7PM) flight. I let them go first, and then asked the woman at the ticket counter to change my flight as well, which she did--as well as adding a voucher for "dinner" at one of the two coffee shops this side of security. I have been trying to limit my caloric intake since the second day of the Reading, so I debated getting a coffee (and perhaps a donut) with this voucher that was only good for today. However, as I was planning on having dinner with Janelle (which we did, at Mykel's), I decided to stay true.
It was a good thing that I did, because right after I made that decision, I heard a final boarding call for a Ravyn flight to Kenai. It was 4:58. I ran to the ticket desk to ask what was happening, and the woman who had given me my boarding passes said, "He was originally on the 5PM, too!" They quickly printed me a new pass as I didn't have any checked luggage, and I ran to the gate (well, jogged ... well, most of the way). It worked out perfectly.
I'm really tired and quite happy to be home, but I want to jot down a couple of quick items so that I will remember them when I see this post again in the future: I had a lovely talk with a woman who was on her way to see her step-family which included 13 great-grand-step-children. I had planned on sleeping that flight, but it was clear that she wanted to talk and doing so filled her (and me) with joy. Also, before I discovered that the computers in Seattle were wrong, I hunted down Qdoba and had a fantastic lunch. Lastly, this was my first time dining at Mykel's; although the meal was expensive, it was absolutely fantastic!