Tokyo Return, Day 4 - Returning Home

Up at a 'normal' time, and I get on the computer one more time before packing it up. The first news report I see is a 'passage of time' report - James Doohan, know to millions of "Star Trek" fans as Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott, Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise, has died. I muse on the fact that "Beam me up, Scotty" is something that I wish I could say today, rather than sit on that airplane. I'll have to e-mail my partner, who is as much a Trekkie as I am.

Breakfast finds me downstairs with many of the other American teachers, and conversations range from 'what shuttle are you riding (to the airport?)', to the news about the Star Trek actor's death to a query about who has the new Harry Potter book to read on the plane, which leads to a second discussion of what bookstores have it and in which edition (we've found both the American and the British publishers' versions - the British is trifle bit cheaper in price, for the most part). By the time we all get to our planes, more than half of the teachers will have a fresh copy to read.

Check out is straightforward, as is the walk to the hotel down the street where we will catch the shuttle bus to the airport. The desk clerks at that hotel seem very surprised at the size and amount of luggage we have, until I explain that we are a group of teachers finishing a 6-week-long stay in Japan. One clerk smiles broadly and exclaims, "So that is why your bags are so big!" and asks how we liked our stay. I tell her that we have enjoyed ourselves.

After all of our concerns about the flight home, the reality is a bit of an anticlimax - no long lines, no particular problems with over weight bags or security problems, not even major difficulties with boarding. And the flight itself is a decent one - for the first time, I get to ride in a plane that has the individual video screens for each seat, which means I can choose which movies I see during the flight. I also manage a couple of short sleep sessions, another good thing that should ensure that I am not quite a zombie when I get home.

Our arrival in Chicago heralds the end of the 'easy' part - now we know where some of the lines went. The entry point lines are long, but they are moving; unfortunately, the same cannot be said for baggage claim. As the suitcases slowly trickle down the chute, several people begin to worry about making connecting flights - it takes almost an hour for all of the bags to arrive, and there were one or two broken ones as well as some missing luggage.

The customs checkpoint moves fairly quickly; baggage re-check on the other side does not. It's almost as though the baggage handlers at O'Hare Airport are operating on reduced capacity or something. Later listserv messages confirm that there were major problems - several of the east-coast-bound folks arrived home without their bags. (Hopefully, everyone will be reunited with their belongings soon.)

I get to my gate for the connecting flight to St. Louis and find Theckla but not Joy - she shows up later, having stopped to grab something to eat. I call my husband, and find out that my son will be picking me up; this is nice, but I wonder if his compact car can handle my large suitcases. Oh well, we'll find out, won't we?

The flight to St. Louis is uneventful - sleep time for me (I don't even bother with getting something to drink). We arrive almost 15 minutes early, but our rides have also gotten there ahead of time. My son is waiting at the concourse entrance; turns out he wanted to be sure which one is was, since he is flying out on business from there next week. The others soon find their people as well, and our baggage shows up rather quickly, for a change. (Okay, now I understand what's going on - someone transplanted our usual baggage handlers to Chicago....)

We load everything (yes, the bags fit), and head for home. I've had a wonderful time, but I'm glad to see my family again. I'll spend the next few days recovering from jet lag, then begin working on plans for the upcoming school year.