"The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men Gaing Aft Aglae..."

Well....you know that plan I had to do a quick tour of London? Gone. You know that trip I left for yesterday to Sri Lanka? I'm still in the States.

Turns out there was bad weather in Newark. (Flying in to Newark, which I've done several times before, over the swamps, the factories, the urban blight, I wonder if I've ever landed here when it wasn't gloomy. I think not.) Our plane from Pittsburgh was about three hours late taking off. We landed just as my flight onward to London left. There were literally HUNDREDS of folks in my situation. You would think the airlines would hold some of these international flights so we could all catch up. You would be wrong. Looooong story short: twenty-four hour delay. I'm scheduled to leave the beautiful city of Newark at 8:30 tonight. I'm hoping my attempts at contacting the people who will pick me up in Colombo are successful. I'll say this, I love the GSM, quad-band (or whatever they call it) cell phone. Called my good friend in Sri Lanka. Clearer than some local calls.

So I along with a slew of other stranded passengers were comped an overnight stay and two meals. Ramada Inn. Surrounded by concrete. Could go into Manhatten for a short stay, but don't know if I have the mental energy for it.

I did read "The Kite Runner" in it's entirety yesterday. Very good read. About Afghanistan from before the Russians, the mujahadden, the Talibandits, 9/11 to the present. Fictional novel. Moving. I recommend it. Author is Khaled Hosseini.

So the day wasn't a complete waste.

Twenty-two hours and 35 minutes into the journey and I've made it as far as Newark.