Finally found internet access in NYC.
After safely arriving in LA I was flagged for a complete search by
Customs that took more than an hour. I had no idea and the
Officer that went with me to gather my luggage did not indicate that it
would take more than a few minutes. I fully expected to be able
to walk past Customs and be with everyone for the final goodbyes.
Needless to say I was heartbroken and disappointed and melancholy the
rest of the night as I flew to Charlotte and then to NYC. I would
have cried all the way except for the fact that I was just too
dumbfounded…I just kept shaking my head all the way. I can’t
believe I missed it. After spending this entire year with the
Team to not be able to give those last hugs and goodbyes is
unfathomable. (Bri…I sat next to you all night long on the way
home and intentionally put-off saying goodbye because I knew I’d do so
at the airport…little did I know!)
Apparently the “Flag” was semi-random. I don’t know what that
means. I have a form I can send to the “govt.” to get some
disclosure on why I was flagged but it seems like a mid-age guy like
myself returning home from SE Asia with a lot (relatively speaking) of
electronics (Computer, lots of SD Cards, camera and 2 hard drives) fits
a profile of sorts. I also learned it’s not kosher to bring back
clearly fake rolex’s and you have to be careful about bringing “rocks,
etc” back too. They let me through though and I saw no one except
Stephanie before having to catch my connecting flight.
I made it NYC without further incident and my lovely niece was waiting
for me at the airport. So far we have seen the WTC site, rode the
Staten Island Ferry, been to the top of the Empire State
Building, and I ate a hotdog. After our internet time we
are headed into ChinaTown and Little Italy and tonight we are seeing
Pygmalion (My Fair Lady) and doing the Macy’s Parade tomorrow.
We fly home Friday morning and will land in Jackson at 5:30 PM.
To The Team: I’m so glad we exchanged letters before we left Hong
Kong. Thank you so much for them- they are my goodbye. I
loved The World Race this year mostly because of YOU. The
ministry was awesome. At times the whole thing was
frustrating. We certainly had fun and adventure. We learned
that living in community might be the hardest thing to do in the world
but I bet all of us will suffer from the lack of it in these next few
weeks. You are my friends and my kids. I love you and
admire you. Thank you for giving a year of your life and letting
me be a part of it.
