Getting up early in the morning I looked out the last time on the harbour. The last time I’m not moving, or trying to move, in Newfoundland. I make some coffee, do a final check of my email, and head out calling a cab for the airport.
At the airport I needed to unload some stuff from my big box – it was heavier than 70 pounds, by around five. Open up the box and take out my jacket, 72. Fish out the bag of rocks: 67. Done. Hearing my story the lady behind the Air Canada baggage desk winked and let the bag go on without the extra charge. 
Knowing that I have suspicious boxes, I head to the oversize x-ray machine for where I can explain what’s in it. He checker needs to open the small box anyway – not a surprise considering the rat’s nest of wires and metal bits in it. He give it the thumbs up and the big one doesn’t even need to be opened again. W00t.
Getting to the gate I notice the plane isn’t there. It shows up after our flight is scheduled to depart. Crap. We take to the air around 45 minutes to an hour late. I start worrying about making my connection to Cleveland since I only have 1:45 to make it to the gate, and that includes waiting for my bags, customs, and re-checking them. Crapity, crapity, crap.
Sure enough, my bags took long to show up. Inexplicably my small bag landed on the fragile line. I didn’t even know there was a fragile line. Ironically, the “fragile” item looked like someone drop kicked it.
On to customs with half an hour to go. On to being punished for honesty. I checked that I had food – freeze-dried food to be used in case of emergency. Wait a while I go to the agriculture desk to get checked. Cleared with 10 minutes to go. Get to bag-check with 5 minutes. Crap.
There’s another flight in 4 hours. I get rebooked for that one. Finally I check my bag. Then take a freakin’ shuttle to get to the other concourse. Even if the flight was on time and I didn’t have any issues there’s a chance I wouldn’t have made it.
More waiting.
At least I’m cleared through customs (in theory at least), my bags (er, boxes) are checked, I have my boarding pass and am waiting for my last leg of the trip back home to a waiting Ennie.
Just a few hours left.
A bit of mirth
“Attention, the flight to Grand Rapids is now ready for boarding. I do have a rather strange request though: that the ladies sit at the back of the plane; this is due to weight and balance concerns since and this is a very full flight.”
Everyone laughs.
“Did you weigh is on the way in?” ask a woman walking to the counter.
The attendant relays the response quietly back to her walkie-talkie: “Yeah, I told them. They all laughed at me.”