Weary Traveler

Written last night...

Well, stuck here in the Houston airport. I HATE THE EAST COAST. EVERY time I go somewhere on the East Coast I get stuck in transfers. Because I'm live in stupid Oklahoma City and there are no direct connections anywhere that isn't within driving distance. I am TIRED of traveling, I hate this. My plane is indefinitely delayed because it hasn't even left New Jersey yet. We're looking at MAYBE a 2:40 a.m. departure, and that's if the plane leaves New Jersey in the next 15 minutes.

At least Continental feeds you. American Airlines doesn't even give freaking peanuts. On my flight from Charleston (West Virginia, not South Carolina because what could be more fun than flying out of an airport smaller than Wichita?) they gave us an entire TRAY of food. Trail mix (with yogurt chips, like chocolate chips), M&M's, crackers with cheese and salami....it was delectable.

I really do love my job. I really do love what I do, I love going places and meeting people and experiencing new things. So I don't HATE the travel. I just hate flying. I hate being away from my family, even for one (now two) nights. Since January this year I have been away on the following trips:
L.A. (once)
Dallas (four times)
Norfolk (twice)
Charleston, WV (once)

Through November I am scheduled (doesn't mean there won't be additions) to be in the following places:
Norfolk (at least once)
Charleston, WV (twice)
Rochester, NY (once)
Atlanta (probably once)
Sacramento (once)
Dallas (who knows how many times)
Chicago (once)

So you can see....the travel is wearing on me.

On a good note, I managed to start and finish my book club book of the month: "A Mighty Heart" by Mariane Pearl, about the life and murder of her husband Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. It was fascinating. I wasn't sure how much I liked it in the beginning...it seemed a little fictional and romancy for a non-fiction. She wrote in flowery, descriptive prose about her love for her husband, and I was taken aback since the premise of the book was non-fiction about a brutal beheading of a Wall Street Journal reporter by terrorists.

It didn't take long for me to become completely entranced, utterly confused, and blown away by how little I understand of the world. By the end of the book, I was sobbing like a baby, big crocodile tears on the airplane. The epilogue includes some of the letters Mariane has received from across the world for her son, who was about 3 months from being born when his father was killed.

What I discovered was a story about a man I could only wish I knew. A love between two people that defines what we're all looking for in someone. A strength and power in this woman that I can only wish I had. It's powerful. You'll be traumatized by her experience, and that of her husband's. And you will be hopeful because of the legacy he left behind. We truly cannot understand the hatred and misunderstanding those across the world have for us in America. We may not be responsible for it as everyday citizens, but I really feel we have a duty to understand it. Daniel Pearl was one person, who (much like Anne Frank) believed there was good in people to be found. He sought truth over an audience (unlike many journalists). And he brought his wife along for his adventures. In the end, it was due to her diligence and strength that brought his story to a global forefront, and tracked down his killers.

Anyway.....didn't mean to give a book review. Especially since my book club hasn't met yet! I was just moved by the story, and I think you should read it. It doesn't provide a lot of closure, but it will help you understand that we need more Daniel Pearl's in the world to bridge this idea of peace and understanding.