It’s 3am and the Miracle of Medicine

Prague is quiet, strangely Sequimesk-like quiet. Our flight here was completely unremarkable. We followed all the traditional customs, Hurry and Wait, Bob and the security pat down (too bad our cameras were locked up in the security baskets), and $14 “grande mucha plain ole” coffees at Starbucks Heathrow. The most solemn event was waiting at the shrine of not so found luggage. Ours were nearly the last bags and came in one cluster out of the luggage pod. For some odd reason the words, “Father forgive me for I have sinned” kept running through my mind before our pod of luggage descended. Currently there are over 14,000 lost bags in our terminal.

Beyond customs were our shuttle driver and a glorious bank of ATM machines. Being a grande short of a full mind and $14 poorer, Gayle and I struggled to make the most of our withdrawal. Here is how my thinking went. We can take out a maximum of $500 per day. There are 15 krowns to the dollar, so 500 divided by 15 is 33.333. The new Walmart little keychain calculator has a partially burned out digit. This cannot be right this, is 2/3 of the tip for the driver! Think, think, think. Twice the ATM beeped “Do you need more time, Stupid Tourist?”. I applied my problem solving dilemma to Gayle, we tossed two minds at the problem and came up with $7500. Wow I’m rich, where is Starbucks now, perhaps I’ll add some “pouring” cream to our coffee.

Our talented driver made short work of the drive. I swear this guy had three arms, actually two arms and one neck. He had one hand on the wheel generally, his neck craned to the left, holding a cell phone, while his other hand sought out “Love Me Tender” by Elvis all the while keeping his eyes peeled on the 7” GPS screen. Since his head was tilted so much, it made the 7” diagonal screen really beneficial. I’ll have to use this at Staples next time I sell a GPS system.

Paris revisited, we arrived at a locked door, with no clue as to which of the two dozen buzzers to click. Linda helpfully suggested I look for Helena’s name (Helena lives in Paris). Recently off the ATM debacle, I did what any weary traveler would do, I pressed all the buttons, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds appeared. Lucy is the niece of Helena, a bright and cheery English-speaking university student.

So I am back to 3a.m. and the gentle whirr of the fridge is all I hear. A special thanks to my father for loaning me a sleeping pill for the trip. Worked wonders, I slept all the way from Seattle to London. It was a weird little sleep. I know my mouth hung open and it sure felt like someone took a foil gum wrapper and rubbed the inside my mouth with it. I guess I’m back to “Forgive me Father for I have Sinned” for why else would I be up at 3a.m. in Prague. Gotta love those sleeping pills.