Okra Winfrey

Aidan and I flew down to Tennessee on Tuesday for a much overdue visit with my mother. Our trip was fairly uneventful, which is just about as good as it gets with air travel. The first leg of the trip was from Syracuse to Charlotte. I held up security at the Syracuse airport while they puzzled over the knitting needles in my tote bag. I had already verified that knitting needles are acceptable in carry-on baggage and, at James' suggestion, had printed the page. After checking the bag manually, they sent us on our way.

That flight had the honor of transporting the body of a US soldier killed in Afghanistan. The pilot requested that everyone remain seated upon arrival, so that the military escort could exit the airplane first. Everyone complied, except one knucklehead - a man approximately in the his mid-to-late 50s - who immediately popped out of his seat and started getting his luggage. Three or four people yelled “Sit down!” and repeated it several times before he sat down, muttering under his breath.

Aidan and I had a little over two hours in Charlotte before catching the quick flight over to Knoxville, so we ate a leisurely lunch. I just have to take a moment and talk about the restrooms in the Charlotte airport: they are the cleanest I have ever seen. Each bathroom is constantly maintained by an attendant and the ladies we met were friendly, helpful and kept their facility sparkling clean. I never thought that I would have occasion to tip a restroom attendant in an airport restroom, but I also never thought I would be so impressed with the cleanliness of an airport restroom!

We happily arrived in Knoxville and have been enjoying our visit, especially Aidan. He and Grandma are great friends, and enjoy "snuggling" in bed each morning. Snuggling can be anything from lying in bed talking to playing cards or reading books. They have had this ritual since he was very small and it is hard to say who enjoys it the most.

Mom prepared okra the first night we were here and Aidan was less than impressed with it although I enjoyed it tremendously. Last night we were eating leftovers from the first two nights and when I asked him if he wanted some chicken, he said “Yes, but I don’t want any of that okra winfrey.”