Written with 'Wanjiku Travels II' and 'Wanjiku Sends a Postcard Home' in mind
Some people are morning-people. Some people are
not-morning-people. The two categories are of course not as discrete as
people-who-can-roll-their-tongues and those-who-can’t. Saying I am not a
morning-person is somewhat of an understatement. I am likely to be the
grumpiest and most disoriented before nine o’clock in the morning. When you add
checking in for a flight at six A.M. into the mix, interesting things happen.
One morning in 2010 I went to the airport without my
passport.
If only it was my ticket I’d forgotten! I could have talked
my way into check-in using the e-ticket reference. It makes you wonder why no one
has implemented an e-passport system. Until someone figures out other ways to
earn money through the immigration process, maintaining the revenue stream from
visas and passport fees is probably a no-brainer.
One morning in 2012 I forgot my bag in the house. I had my
passport and ticket. I had four other pieces of luggage: three food packages
that my colleagues had requested and my laptop bag. If we count my handbag,
that makes it five.
I have been accused of having a memory like a sieve. This
quality is most manifest in the morning hours. Note to self: put all the bags you
need at the door before going to sleep. Alternatively, embrace forgetfulness
and pay the price.
Four days and many phone calls later I picked up the missing
luggage. I have never been happier to be reunited with a physical object. I wanted
to hug it, but I thought the people at the airline office might get a bit
confused.
There were several links in the chain: the girl from the
airline who arranged to have my bag checked in as unaccompanied cargo and
extended credit; the taxi driver who took my bag from the flat and delivered it
to the airport; the logistics person here who arranged to have the bag cleared
free of charge. Many others are
‘invisible’ and will never receive my thanks in person.
I don’t need deodorant, body lotion...(fill in the blanks) as
much as I thought I did, and it is
possible (though not necessarily desirable) to live on two pairs of shoes. The
lesson reiterated through my utter dependence on other people’s generosity is
that human beings are beautiful. People see God every day;
they just don't recognize Him[1]. ... but if
we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect
in us.[2]
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