Why do I travel again?

The lecture in Portland went well and I was feeling pretty good as I headed to the airport with my suit safely stowed and a half dozen lobsters packed in a blue cardboard box which sadly omitted the obvious "Live Lobsters" label. I was even early for a change--figuring I'd do some work at the airport thanks to WiFi.

And yet, as I was sitting comfortably in the lounge, I noticed an unusual number of people milling around the gate looking harried. A quick inquiry revealed that these were passengers from the previous flight and that the plane sitting outside the window was their plane not mine.



More time to work I thought...

Then they cancelled the earlier flight.

Then they re-booked everyone on mine and announced it'd be delayed 4 hours.

More time to work, I thought...

Then they cancelled my flight. And every flight to New York for the rest of the evening.

Then people went crazy. After much standing in line, I rented a car. I drove to Boston hoping to grab a shuttle or the late train. No dice. And then I drove home from Maine to the airport where I picked up my car and drove back home completely spent. "Why is it" I wondered somewhere in hour 5 of driving in the rain, "that I travel?"

I made it home eventually, and just in time to have the book officially published and after some sleep, to have a festive dinner replete with some vintage champagne I dug up. Adding to the sweetness, was the new review of the book in Entertainment Weekly which gives it (alone among all the 18 books reviewed in the issue) an "A". To put that in perspective consider that along with me in the issue was the new Updike Novel (a "C+") and Tom Zoellner's book about diamonds (a "B+").

So far a clean sweep for all published reviews.

Hopefully that's a streak that will continue.