Time to return

Our trip to Brighton and London felt like two separate vacations. The first half was a cozy time with family, and the second half was a bustling time in a big city. I try not to obsess with the news when I'm not home, but it changes so quickly I feel compelled to at least have a high-level knowledge of what is happening. I am a bit outspoken and when people ask my opinion, I feel the need to reply intelligently.

This was the first time I've ever wondered if I would be able to return. If we sent troops to Greenland to take it over forcibly, the rest of NATO would respond by cutting us off. This means trans-Atlantic flights would almost immediately cease, especially those by American owned companies. 

Sorry ... nothing personal.

The value of the dollar would plummet as NATO nations pulled their money out of our economy.

So sorry.

The embassy would close. 

Again, sorry.

I ruminated on a conversation I overheard a couple of days earlier while sitting in the Prince's Head pub in Richmond. A British man approached a table of four blonde 20-something women speaking a foreign language. He asks where they are from, they say Ukraine. He replied "I flew into Kiev in 2021. At the time it was the only way to get to the United States from England because of COVID restrictions. Great place. I felt lots of optimism."

The pick up line was rattling around in my head as I was trying to figure out if he would be dumb enough to invade our allies before our plane was taking off. He didn't (that's the reason he is called TACO), but it still hung over my head. What would our back up plan be? Where would we have to go into order to be able to return to the United States? Swimming across the ocean was not an option.

During the intermission of Cable Street I struck up a conversation with the man in the row ahead of me. He echoed the fear posts I had been reading. Yes, the United States would be cut off. He felt sorry for us, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Thanks to the ease of public transportation, we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to wait for our flight. As I was finishing up a cup of tea Don pointed out the window. A Porsche 911 was being loaded into the hull of a Thai Airways plane. From our angle it seemed like it would just barely fit. Based on the jiggling they went through to make it fit, I suspect it was close on the ground, too. I left thinking "now I've seen everything."

Our flight home was a little more crowded than the way out -- Don and I had three seats for the two of us. It was a day flight so I binge watched "And Just Like That." I wish it was on a streaming service we subscribe to so I could watch the rest of the season at home. It helped pass the time.

Thanks to Global Entry we showed our faces to the screen and kept on walking. No line for us, long line for everyone else. The best part for Don is he doesn't have to answer any questions. I miss getting a passport stamp.