Cheap pizza, bad television

May 28-29, Seattle

It’s the little things in life that frustrate me.  The big crises-and this, in terms of a holiday abroad, counts as a monumental cockup-are what they are.  Like losing my keys in the passing of five seconds.  Infuriating.  But finding my car stolen?  That’s happened a couple times before, and what can you do but make the requisite calls and move ahead?  Life goes on, for the living.

And, besides, I had cash.  The folks at the UAL/AC ticket stand did what they could.  I could fly out at 0850 the next morning, which worked well enough, as it beat paying out for a whole new ticket via BA.  Many thanks to Barb M. for straightening all of that out.

So I retreated to a nearby hotel, a Red Roof Inn, got a room with a king size bed-despite their apologies, I loved it-drank steadily, and watched five hours of NCIS on TNT, followed by Casino Royale.  Cheap pizza and cigarettes, along with enough bourbon, can make any dark night of the soul seem a bit brighter.  Or, at least, you don’t mind the darkness so much.

I could be wrong, of course, but it seemed a simple enough proposition: What is a holiday without an adventure?  And, to be certain, the adventure was just getting underway; at least the rest of it was, if not strictly enjoyable throughout, better than that.