Home to Orlando...at last!
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Wednesday, July 28 was a bittersweet day for us. We were finally to leave Jamaica. My recuperation had progressed well, and the doctor had given me a green light for flying. And there was a raft of items awaiting our attention back in Orlando, so we packed our belongings and prepared to leave.
Our flight was scheduled for 2:02 p.m.
We got to the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay in plenty of time to get checked in and relax.
Once we'd put our luggage in Northwest's hands, we strolled around the airport.
Naturally, Erlinda took a fancy to souvenir shops like this one, which sold the usual items, like T-shirts, postcards, and so on.
We felt a little peckish, so we grabbed a bite in the Island Grill restaurant tucked away in a cosy corner of the Sangster airport.
The meal was delicious. I didn't know how hungry I was until I started eating.
Wonder if it was the spicy sauces that increased my appetite?
Then came time to leave. We had mixed feelings about it.
We gazed out on the array of airplanes parked at the terminal (I'm showing only about half of them in this shot).
We vowed that we'd be back soon.
We settled in for our three hour flight to Memphis.
There, we'd have a brief layover before catching the next plane to Orlando.
In a couple minutes, we were airborne.
As the plane lifted, we caught our last glimpse of the green island with cotton clouds and a gorgeous deep blue sea.
Make no mistake. We planned to be back.
Pretty soon, they provided us with a fine meal.
Wait a minute? Didn't we just eat at the airport? Yup, we did. But we were ready for more.
And do you know anyone who says "no" when an airline offers them a meal? Not me. Not Erlinda. We chowed down.
It was late afternoon, close to sundown when we arrived in Memphis.
We changed planes and before we knew it, we were aloft again, winging our way to Orlando.
As you know, I love shooting into the sun (see the France pictures for more of that).
I couldn't resist shooting the sun peeking through the clouds as it descended into the west.
By now it was about 7:30 p.m. central time.
I settled in for the 2-hour flight to Orlando, and got a chance to work on my photo diary.
It does take a while to choose the best from hundreds of pictures, prepare them for publishing, and write the commentary.
The quiet time during a flight is a great time for doing it.
At around 10:15 Orlando time we started our descent and the city spread itself out under us.
I kinda like the squiggles you get with a long exposure while in motion at night, don't you?
We pulled up to the terminal and disembarked at gate 38...
...said "you're welcome" to the sign that thanked us for flying with Northwest...
...and headed for our bags. Yes, we did take checked luggage with us to Jamaica, even though we usually travel with carry-ons only.
It's a good thing that we did take ample luggage, since we ended up spending three whole months there, instead of just two weeks as we had planned.
Guess who was waiting to pick us up?
Yup, you guessed it: my brother Tony. It was great to see him again.
I'd last seen him on May 23, after he'd spent a week with us in Jamaica while I was in the hospital.
He took us home, where we found--surprise!--a balloon bouquet waiting for us.
Tony had gotten us balloons that said "Welcome home," "With God all things are possible," and "You're special."
What a welcome!
And there was another surprise.
On our kitchen counter, we found sacks of groceries, enough to last us for several days.
Tony had been thoughtful enough to get us cereal, fruit, vegetables, juices and more.
What a guy.
The next day, we vegetated, but the day after that we treated ourselves to one of our favorite outings: a meal at Sweet Tomatoes, a soup and salad restaurant.
Yes, I know, we had all those groceries from Tony, but we just had to refresh our palates at Sweet Tomatoes.
We hadn't tasted its delights for more than three months.
In fact, as you'll notice, Erlinda took not one plate, but two.
You see, Sweet Tomatoes is an all-you-care-to-eat establishment (much to our enjoyment).
We usually tried to go there when we were good and hungry. That afternoon, we were both more than ready.
Then came Sabbath, and we prepared to head out to church.
Erlinda was looking spiffy, as usual, so I decided to snap this picture of her.
As you can see, the plants had overgrown themselves while we were away in Jamaica.
At church, it was like a reunion.
We had a great worship experience. We saw many people we hadn't seen for more than twelve weeks.
Erlinda got a chance to see her cousin, Annie Parchment, again.
After church, we headed over to Tony and Fely's place.
Tony and Fely, his wife, had invited us over.
It seemed like the perfect day for a pot luck and an Orlando family reunion.
Just before we'd left for Jamaica, I'd visited Paris to teach a course for Microsoft (see Links on the left for pictures).
I'd brought souvenirs back with me, but I'd had no chance to give them to family members, since we'd left almost immediately for Jamaica following Aunt Kitty's death (see Links for pix of that).
So on this day, I played catch-up. I gave an authentic french beret to Anthony Parchment, Erlinda's brother, shown here with his wife, Joy and daughter, Avonie.
I had another one for Tony, who took it lying down (heh, heh, heh....).
For Fely, Avonie and Joy, I had Paris souvenir sun-shades, which they loved.
Erlinda was tickled to be back with her favorite niece (actually, her only niece), Avonie.
They say Tony and I look alike.
Is it true? If so, it's a compliment to me, because Tony's a handsome guy.
I was glad to be back so we could see each other again.
So after three months away, we were back. It felt good--no, GREAT--to be back in Orlando.
It felt like home because it WAS home. It's been home to us for the last fifteen years, and probably will be for some time to come.
I was back with a crack in my head that stretched almost from ear to ear. I had a lazy eye that so far had not decided to open all the way. My balance was still sometimes imperfect. And inside my head there was still construction (or maybe I should say repair) in progress.
So why am I smiling in this picture?
Because I'm alive. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death with my loving, caring wife right beside me, and came out on the other side--alive. Of every ten people who have a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, three die without getting to treatment, and most of the others pass away or have some impairment. Only one emerges with no major physical or cognitive impairment. One in ten!
Guess what? I'm that one. Praise God.
Our flight was scheduled for 2:02 p.m.We got to the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay in plenty of time to get checked in and relax.
Once we'd put our luggage in Northwest's hands, we strolled around the airport.Naturally, Erlinda took a fancy to souvenir shops like this one, which sold the usual items, like T-shirts, postcards, and so on.
We felt a little peckish, so we grabbed a bite in the Island Grill restaurant tucked away in a cosy corner of the Sangster airport.The meal was delicious. I didn't know how hungry I was until I started eating.
Wonder if it was the spicy sauces that increased my appetite?
Then came time to leave. We had mixed feelings about it.We gazed out on the array of airplanes parked at the terminal (I'm showing only about half of them in this shot).
We vowed that we'd be back soon.
We settled in for our three hour flight to Memphis.There, we'd have a brief layover before catching the next plane to Orlando.
In a couple minutes, we were airborne.As the plane lifted, we caught our last glimpse of the green island with cotton clouds and a gorgeous deep blue sea.
Make no mistake. We planned to be back.
Pretty soon, they provided us with a fine meal.Wait a minute? Didn't we just eat at the airport? Yup, we did. But we were ready for more.
And do you know anyone who says "no" when an airline offers them a meal? Not me. Not Erlinda. We chowed down.
It was late afternoon, close to sundown when we arrived in Memphis.We changed planes and before we knew it, we were aloft again, winging our way to Orlando.As you know, I love shooting into the sun (see the France pictures for more of that).I couldn't resist shooting the sun peeking through the clouds as it descended into the west.
By now it was about 7:30 p.m. central time.
I settled in for the 2-hour flight to Orlando, and got a chance to work on my photo diary.It does take a while to choose the best from hundreds of pictures, prepare them for publishing, and write the commentary.
The quiet time during a flight is a great time for doing it.
At around 10:15 Orlando time we started our descent and the city spread itself out under us.I kinda like the squiggles you get with a long exposure while in motion at night, don't you?
We pulled up to the terminal and disembarked at gate 38......said "you're welcome" to the sign that thanked us for flying with Northwest......and headed for our bags. Yes, we did take checked luggage with us to Jamaica, even though we usually travel with carry-ons only.It's a good thing that we did take ample luggage, since we ended up spending three whole months there, instead of just two weeks as we had planned.
Guess who was waiting to pick us up?Yup, you guessed it: my brother Tony. It was great to see him again.
I'd last seen him on May 23, after he'd spent a week with us in Jamaica while I was in the hospital.
He took us home, where we found--surprise!--a balloon bouquet waiting for us.Tony had gotten us balloons that said "Welcome home," "With God all things are possible," and "You're special."
What a welcome!
And there was another surprise.On our kitchen counter, we found sacks of groceries, enough to last us for several days.
Tony had been thoughtful enough to get us cereal, fruit, vegetables, juices and more.
What a guy.
The next day, we vegetated, but the day after that we treated ourselves to one of our favorite outings: a meal at Sweet Tomatoes, a soup and salad restaurant.Yes, I know, we had all those groceries from Tony, but we just had to refresh our palates at Sweet Tomatoes.
We hadn't tasted its delights for more than three months.
In fact, as you'll notice, Erlinda took not one plate, but two.You see, Sweet Tomatoes is an all-you-care-to-eat establishment (much to our enjoyment).
We usually tried to go there when we were good and hungry. That afternoon, we were both more than ready.
Then came Sabbath, and we prepared to head out to church.Erlinda was looking spiffy, as usual, so I decided to snap this picture of her.
As you can see, the plants had overgrown themselves while we were away in Jamaica.
At church, it was like a reunion.
We had a great worship experience. We saw many people we hadn't seen for more than twelve weeks.
Erlinda got a chance to see her cousin, Annie Parchment, again.
After church, we headed over to Tony and Fely's place.Tony and Fely, his wife, had invited us over.
It seemed like the perfect day for a pot luck and an Orlando family reunion.
Just before we'd left for Jamaica, I'd visited Paris to teach a course for Microsoft (see Links on the left for pictures).I'd brought souvenirs back with me, but I'd had no chance to give them to family members, since we'd left almost immediately for Jamaica following Aunt Kitty's death (see Links for pix of that).
So on this day, I played catch-up. I gave an authentic french beret to Anthony Parchment, Erlinda's brother, shown here with his wife, Joy and daughter, Avonie.
I had another one for Tony, who took it lying down (heh, heh, heh....).For Fely, Avonie and Joy, I had Paris souvenir sun-shades, which they loved.Erlinda was tickled to be back with her favorite niece (actually, her only niece), Avonie.They say Tony and I look alike.Is it true? If so, it's a compliment to me, because Tony's a handsome guy.
I was glad to be back so we could see each other again.
So after three months away, we were back. It felt good--no, GREAT--to be back in Orlando.It felt like home because it WAS home. It's been home to us for the last fifteen years, and probably will be for some time to come.
I was back with a crack in my head that stretched almost from ear to ear. I had a lazy eye that so far had not decided to open all the way. My balance was still sometimes imperfect. And inside my head there was still construction (or maybe I should say repair) in progress.
So why am I smiling in this picture?
Because I'm alive. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death with my loving, caring wife right beside me, and came out on the other side--alive. Of every ten people who have a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, three die without getting to treatment, and most of the others pass away or have some impairment. Only one emerges with no major physical or cognitive impairment. One in ten!
Guess what? I'm that one. Praise God.