| Introduction | 11/22 | 11/23 | 11/24 | 11/25 | 11/26 | 11/27 | 11/28 | 11/29 | Alfred C. Snider | Debate Central |
I awoke aboard the plane and
noticed that we were over Panama and it was a new day. I dozed off again and
woke up as we approached Miami. A light breakfast was served. We arrived in
Miami and I felt like I had spent an evening on a foxhole. Even with an entire
row I was full of sore spots and had kinks in my neck, as well as still being
tired.
I disembarked in Miami and
tried to plan ahead to improve my day. I had a huge layover of seven hours coming
up in WashingtonÕs Dulles Airport, so I wanted to try and find a flight to Newark
that would leave earlier. However, I knew that I needed to intercept my bag
and reroute it or else I would arrive in Newark and have to wait seven hours
for my bag to arrive. Luckily you have to claim your bag on entry into the USA
and go through customs then recheck your luggage. When I got to the recheck
station I asked about trying to have my flight changed and after considerable
trial and error it was accomplished, but only in terms of getting me on the
standby list. I rechecked my one bag for the earlier flight and walked on to
my next flight.
The next flight was from Miami
to Washington Dulles. It was longer than one would expect (Miami is very far
south) but was uneventful. I dozed fitfully. In Washington I was on the ground
by 9:15 AM but my flight was not until 12:25 PM. I recharged my computer at
a lone electrical outlet and worked on my journal. I find it useful to write
this journal as soon after the events as I can.
I had visited the desk several
times checking on my stand by status, so the clerk finally gave up and just
issued me a boarding pass, or at least that is how it seems. I was on the plane
to Newark and it was my last air leg of the trip. The flight was only 50 minutes
long that day. We landed in Newark and I actually received my bags merely a
few meters away from the bus to my distant discount parking lot. I found my
car, it started, and I headed out for Vermont.
It is usually about a six-hour
drive from the Newark airport to Vermont, up the Garden State Parkway to the
New York Thruway that runs up to Albany. In Albany it is I-87 north to exit
20, East to Fort Ann, into southern Vermont on highway 4, and then north on
Vermont route 22A through Vergennes and into Burlington. As I drove through
Whiting, Vermont I thought of Pam Peck and her strong advocacy for the Mapuche
peopleÕs status under the Pinochet regime and contrasted that with the Mapuche
children I had seen debating so strongly, and two powerful young Mapuche women
(Karen Calcumil and Nataly Nathuelpan) were the Chilean national champions.
So it goes. Soon I was in my own living space, home at last.
When I started doing a lot
of international travel Sam Nelson, my colleague from the University of Rochester
who collects and trades in rare books, gave me a very small volume of quotations
called The Quotable Traveler. I have had it for several years and have
not really used it. As I drove home I thought that on arrival I would consult
its last section, on coming home. Here is what I found:
" ...once you have traveled,
the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest
chambers ... the mind can never break off from the journey." --- Pat Conroy
Yes, I think so.
I finish my journal with a
few brief comments.
And last but not least some
photos Benito gave to me of the high school national championship tournament
held in the chamber of the national legislature.
| NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ORGANIZERS | RECTOR MANUEL MONTT OF UDP & THE PRESIDENT
OF THE SENATE |
| TOP SPEAKER IN THE TOURNAMENT | TEAM FROM LICEO MIGUEL LUIS AMUNATEGUI AWAIT
THE DECISION - AND THEY GET IT |