Erica, Prague, and Madrid in That Order. Day #1 April 30 -May 1, 2019 “Where’s My Baby?”

I recently started reading former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright’s book entitled “Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948”. In it, she writes, “Some people pursue enlightenment by sitting quietly and probing their inner consciousness; I make plane reservations.” Madame Secretary, you must have been thinking of me when you wrote that.

Today (April 30, 2019) we left for Prague, not to research Secretary Albright’s roots but rather to visit our daughter, Erica. As you might know she lives and works in Madrid, Spain. When we discussed a visit she suggested we meet in Prague, so we are on our way.

Due to some incredible incompetence by our travel agent (that would be me) we don’t arrive into Prague until 11:00 pm. People have asked what I am most interested in seeing in Prague and without hesitation I answer, “Erica!”. This reminds me of our trip to Cuba in 2011. Erica was studying in Cuba from August 15 – December 15, 2011 so we planned a trip to go visit. In 2011 you needed an approved reason to visit Cuba. We found a “Medical Fact Finding Tour” scheduled to leave the end of October and signed up.

Unfortunately on September 17, 2011, a date I refer to as “My personal 911” I fell off my bicycle and fractured my right hip. When seen in the emergency room by the surgeon my first question was, “Will I be able to travel to Cuba by the end of October”. He said if that was what I wanted, I would be able to do so. So six weeks after suffering a life-changing right hip fracture I was off to Cuba.

Traveling to Cuba while being on crutches and instructed to be non-weight bearing on my injured hip was quite a challenge. The “tour” was of course a joke. Many of our fellow travelers were very upset because our visit was not very informative about the Cuban health care system. They wanted to protest to the travel company and came to me for my input. I told them that once I saw Erica the trip was a success. I am sure Prague has many things of interest to offer us but to be very blunt, once we see Erica, the trip will be a success.

Right now, I am writing to you from the American Airlines lounge at Heathrow Airport in London. We have been here since 10 AM local time and don’t leave until 8:00 PM (thanks to travel agent Robert). Unfortunately I didn’t get much sleep on the flight here. I should have known we were in for a difficult time when I saw these two signs.

When we made our reservations I wanted to be assured that my seat would recline flat so I could get some sleep. It did recline flat but the seats are staggered in such a way that the person in front of me had to climb over my legs to get out of her location. That passenger must have had a bladder problem because every time I was about to doze off she climbed over me and stirred me awake. It was not a fun flight and I am exhausted. By 11 PM Prague time (2 PM LA time) and a mere 23 hours after leaving LA I will be at our destination and probably it will be another hour later that I will find a bed. Don’t feel sorry for me; I will be seeing Erica soon and I will be very happy.