Wednesday

Oct, 3, 2001

flying on a bankrupt airline

Having to get up, get ready to meet customers and pack and be ready to move to the next country. What fun! (Yes, that's exactly what I said for yesterday. Sigh.)

I discuss business over breakfast, sit in on sales training to answer questions, have lunch with customers, present to them. Then we go back to the airport hotel, get our luggage and, what luck, the airport bus drives up. But...not so lucky...he's taking a break. So we cram into a large taxi with all our bags. I brought along some Dutch Guilders I'd found in my safe at home. I pay the cab. It is exactly enough.

Sabena is bankrupt and we don't know if it will fly. But it does. With only three or four passengers save us.

We drive by a NATO base and the flight control center for Europe and are at our Brussels hotel. It's late. We get togehter in the bar for a snack. I have a Belgian Wheat Beer with my chicken burger. That's as close as I'll feel to being in the country. We don't have appointments until the afternoon. I convince my mates to make a 10am start for the office. My voice, my throat are suffering a little. I need to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. No talking or smoke.

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace..."

John Lennon, "Imagine"

Meta:
We'll just be keeping Lennon's radical lyrics here indefinitely. I'm updating this after the fact. Which means, of course, that I forget even more than usual.

JUST TYPING
If it's Wednesday.
It must be Belgium.