The Quietus Hit Him

I could feel it--following me, sort of sneaking up on me, watching me. Sure enough, when Debbie and I got out of the car at RDU yesterday morning it finally got me. It wasn't at all unexpected though. I knew it would happen. When the time to finally say goodbye arrived, I knew I wouldn't be able to. Sure enough, I couldn't. I didn't. In fact, I didn't say anything--at first. We stared at each other and I smiled that little nervous smile that I do when nothing else occurs to me. Nothing else occured to me. That's when the reality of this thing got me.



Shortly after we managed to part a very different form of reality was waiting for me at the ticket counter. The first person who offered to help me sorted through a bundle of pages looking for my name. He informed me that I wasn't listed and asked if I was sure I had the right airlines. A reasonable question I suppose. I assured him I was and inserted a credit card into the kiosk and sure enough I was listed.



That much accomplished I turned to face the man behind the counter. After he learned my name he spent a considerable amount of time staring intently into his computer monitor while typing various codes and letter combinations all in an effort to check-in my two pieces of luggage. Finally the quietus hit him and the typing slowed down considerably while the staring seemed to intensify. He began looking for assistance from the woman two stations away. She was busy. We waited.



I asked if there was a problem (as there certainly seemed to be). He mumbled somethng about needing a visa to enter Korea (which marked the first time I heard such a thing.) Tired of waiting, he walked to her station and implored her to help him. When they returned they both began staring into the depths of the monitor. She informed us both that no visa was required for Korea but one was required to visit or work in Cambodia (which I knew could be procured at the airport in Phnom Penh). It took them several minutes to undersatnd what they were reading. At one point she asked me the purpose of my visit to Cambodia and the length of my stay. I told her 60 days to which she responded a Cambodian visa would expire in 30 days. The devil was in the details. After a few more anxious moments she declared that all was well and I was allowed to pass. However, my bags still weren't checked in.



The larger of the two was on the scale. The man said, "This one is over (weight). Can you take some stuff out of it and put it into that one?" They were both packed so full that his idea wouldn't work. Then he said the magic words: it's six pounds over; that'll cost you $200. (My backpack suddenly got six pound heavier!)



My current reality includes sitting in the Incheon Airport waiting for the third and final leg of the trip. Just five more hours and I'll begin my next two months from home.