“All of my finest and most pervasive daydreams and fantasies as an adult are rooted in a step or three back from our little world of late stage capitalism.” – Old Sean
DC Touchstone
Over the past few months, I have been mobile once again, spending time in Philly, Baltimore, DC, Dallas, Houston and, currently, Alaska. I’ve been waddling around in a state of inglorious lack of direction while I slowly whittle away time.
Prior to my return to the US, I was spending some time in South America. I flew back to the states in a flurry and began a swift loop around the nation.
After landing in Philly, I gradually worked my way back to DC, where my uniquely splendid friend Carl managed to keep me alive and kicking. Strapped of funds and desperate to get my bearings, I cannot express to you what a godsend this man is.
We spent our days watching Detective Pikachu, watching the fabulous TV series Danger 5, trying numerous, excellent food options (Duke’s Counter has a killer burger, Bread Furst is a bakery worthy of the line-out-the-door, and Pho 14 was utterly splendid and delicious). We also spent time visiting a few of the Smithsonian Museums I missed during my last visit (Native American and Museum of Natural History). Finally, I watched terribly brilliant Kung Fu movies with an unabashed amount of joy while I whittled away my online work with Carl’s support.
It was an excellent visit. It kept me sane and in a good mental state.
East Coast Tours
I gradually made my way back towards Philadelphia, stopping in Baltimore for a few days, where I mostly did shopping and a few short errands.
I met up with the lovely lady whose family was my host family in Colombia and we swapped pictures and stories (as she had just returned from China).
Finally, I reunited with my family for a while in Philadelphia. We took a tour of some of the place I first grew up in, Bud Lake, New Jersey. Half-remembered snippets of memories, so foggy they were nearly fictions to me, cropped up randomly.
There, the place I clumsily helped my departed grandfather slice down bamboo.
And there, the dock near the honeysuckles we would walk, where some teenage boys had unwisely teased a water moccasin ages ago.
There, the slight spread and roll of a school field, named for my grandmother.
I had left when I was two. The obscurity was unique and tantalizingly familiar.
Spiritual Horrors
Regardless, after visiting New Jersey, I packed my things to return to Dallas to be among friends for a while, unaware that I was prepping myself for a truly horrendous experience.
Allow me to say, that I have been warned repeatedly not to fly Spirit Airlines. And for the most part, I’ve made an effort to avoid it. But with funds scrapping the bottom of the barrel, I decided to bite the bullet, a bit of comfort be damned.
And damned I was.
My flight canceled ten minutes before boarding, no further flights available for three days, no accommodation or hotels offered. Desperate to make slightly better time, I was advised to go to Atlantic City on my own dime, spend the night next to the airport baggage claim and catch a 6 AM flight to Dallas. Devoid of options, I did so.
Of course, that flight was canceled too, a mere hour before boarding, leaving me bleary eyed and pissed beyond politeness. Hissing fire at the attendant, I was sent all the way back to Philly in a frantic rush, again, to catch yet another flight hours later.
There were no apologies, no reimbursement, no help, nothing. The bleeding company ground out some copy and pasted emails of tepid apologies citing policy and put me on a flight back where I started a full day (and extra hour delay) later.
To Spirit’s (greasy, simpering) credit, I was offered a fifty dollar flight voucher on my next flight with them. I promptly tour it up and scattered it to the wind. I’ll never fly Spirit again. For the remainder of my years on this blue and green rock, I will be warning people away from the travesty of this company.
Please reference the Il Dito Statue found in Milan, Italy for an accurate summation of my feelings at this time.
Truly South
Regardless, once I got to Dallas, things weren’t much easier. I shuttled myself around quite a bit, but without a vehicle, work was hard to come by and most of my efforts were spent online.
I reconnected once more with some old friends. Spent some time at a lake house drifting about on a boat and drinking myself into an early oblivion. I also visited my brother, helped a friend set up his cryptocurrency office in the wee hours of the morning, ran into my exalted friends Manual and Charlie (both whom I’ve missed dearly) and finally cried joyously at Toy Story 4.
I also went to a few parks, took care of some dogs and a few cats, took a mini road trip to Houston to pick up a fantastic friend and her daughter (kudos to the Black Walnut Café on Clair Ct, Sugarland), returned to Dallas for an attempted (and failed) motorcycle repair, binge watched the Dororo anime, grabbed food at all my favorite Dallas limelight restaurants (Botolino Gelato Artigianale) and finally settled in for my last few days in Texas.
My last few days in Texas were spent back in Houston, securing my Chinese visa and prepping for one more trip. It was an excellent visit overall, as I got to meet my friend’s younger sister (who is a superb character) and supplemented my ramen diet with some nice restaurants around the Chinese Consulate.
Katz’s Deli makes a mean sandwich and Agora is one of the best Greek-themed coffee shops I’ve ever seen.
Anyway, I overstayed my welcome slightly, due to a bit of a Visa delay from the 4th of July. But I’m all prepped, packed and tickets have been set.
I’m on my way to Alaska to meet an Air Force buddy for the first time in three years.
Until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written July 15th 2019
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Ten years ago, I abandoned my military surplus store backpack for a Farpoint 40 Osprey Travel Pack. I’ve never replaced my bag since. The backpack has been with me around the world, through my departing Beijing and onwards through trips across Europe and South America. I have nothing but praise for Osprey Products.
