time to return . .
up at 6:30 … assemble the unassembled
creak over to the train station caravan style by walking .. some bags are ceasing to function .. wheels stick and fabric frayed and threatening to give .. cobble stones ratcheting up the erosion of such .. meanwhile, the sun is pissed off it can’t add its haphazard swelter this early in the day … our clacking bag wheels sound like they mock the notion, cackling at the solar impotence that would crush us if attempted with a late check-out attached
in the station at 7:50 … an early mark i can live with .. but am tempted to stop for coffee to up the stakes
but won’t this time … i am played out for now
… on board by 8:03
hit madrid .. meet up with estella there at the station and reassemble some extra stuff
as fernando’s right hand man, she has been instructed to meet us wth a ton of wondrous debris … a slew of giant posters boasting of the ‘alegrias’ album … a box of vinyl of the same .. fistfuls of cds of the same too … then a variety of other ‘eureka’ release … a bunch of t-shirts from his label and cloth bags for whatever .. a johnny cash album .. and a classic paco de lucia .. both vnyl … and then a massive vinyl box set of “the history of flamenco”
and its too much … that much history should not fly .. but we stuff it all in somehow somewhere like the game it is
and then we send poor estella away with the leftovers
.. meanwhile i stash that stunning new guitar the perez brothers made for me in a carry-on sack so then to cram more stuff in the empty hard shell guitar case.
then head to the airport
2 cabs for all this caravan muck a luck
damn .. i am 20 euros shy of paying for both cabs .. and some guy who acts like he works here at the airport is piling our bags onto a cart as if to assist … no wait .. he does not work here .. stop that .. go away .. shuffle around for a way to pay the 2nd cab .. and then the danish credit card of my missus comes into play and saves the day
ok .. 2 carts loaded up … but of all the problems i have had in europe just flying with a carry-on size bag i check and a guitar i get hell for when insisting taking on board … american airlines and the 2 million miles i hace flown with them is very understanding of our massive load and doesn’t even wince … 6 bags .. some weighing a ton .. and 2 guitars to carry on board .. not a problem .. the kids with their back packs .. sure
so we drop our heap at the ticket counter
and head to the gate
exactly out of euros now ..
and then a needed stop at the iberia lounge for idiots like me that fly too much … the whole family lands in there like gypsies of folk lore .. we camp out by the free food spread that is cornucopia-ish .. and i fit in a speed shower since its already been a trampled travel day to get here
a brief 20 some minutes here and so then to the plane
on board
in the middle section of 3 connected seats with one exit row seat for alternating parents
not bad
the kids fight just a little …
not bad
on board the flight there is a movie called “country strong”
not bad … for 35,000 feet
an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of “crazy heart”
my 9 year old girl loves it
the stars do an impressive job of singing … and there is jimmy lauderdale in the band on screen and it always feels good to see jim do anything he does.
so
that is that
connect in dallas … again to the club for a quick remedial visit
and now flinging home … temp in dallas was 101 … tucson 102
i’m ready for it … the ramp off the plane felt baked and right by me
got the girls upgraded on the last leg … the dudes are cramped back in coach churning out this last crimple of journal … the boy sleeps and barely fits in the 2 seats we have and his sprawl is shoving me out a bit
i order a black coffee and a corona
when i finally put this thing down .. and ignore the book i brought along .. i catch the magnificence out the window … as if i almost forgot the sensational wonder of time travel like this … back into the past the plane shoves us, but out the window i notice the captain has decided on skimming the tops of the clouds like they are the ocean they once were way down below. . . the angle of the hot sun imposes a grand specter of shadowing the fluffy cloud splotch to make them even more wave like with streaks of sunlight that billow up enough to impress and inspire … it is a sea of accumulated cumulous we ride
and that grace adds nicely to this dream
- – - — –
if you have read any of this 54 day journal.. .
some day you can tell me what really happened
it would be great to have counter journals of people on the same day who went or tried to go to the shows written about within these jots
stick it in the comments slot here in journal land
until then
and again
the en d