Detroit - Final Edition

It's good to be home, where the portions are normal, and the bed is comfy. The hotel bed gave me aches because the matress and pillows were too soft. I didn't sleep through a single night because it was pretty noisy at night, though I have no idea what the sounds were. For example, last night it sounded like there was a lawn mower outside my window. The sound would grow louder, and then fade away. On other nights I would jolt awake for no apparent reason, and on Saturday night, the little "pitter-patter" of kids tearing down the hallways kept me awake. The kids were pretty loud, I was in a suite, and the bedroom is furthest from the hallway.

I tried out web check-in for the first time. On Sunday night I went on the NWA website and checked myself in. I printed up my boarding pass, so when I got to the airport today, I walked straight through security without even having to go to the ticket counter. I highly recommend it, esp if you're all carry on. Total time from stepping off the Avis shuttle to clearing all checkpoints was 5 mins, and that's cause I stood on the escalator instead of walking up. Plus the DTW main terminal is pretty big.

On Friday morning, the flight to DTW took 47 mins. Tonight, the flight home took 39 mins. The amount of time it took tonight for the plane to leave the gate and taxi to the runway at DTW, and from the runway to taxi to the gate at YYZ prolly took longer than the flight itself.

Two really cool things happened on the plane tonight. It was pretty cloudy over Detroit, so as soon as we took off, we were in the middle of a cloud, and I couldn't see anything out my window. Eventually we soared higher than the clouds, and my eyes feasted on a spectacular sight. The moon was shinning somewhere out of my view, but the clouds were glistening, reflecting the moon's light. There were stars all around, some twinkling more than others (ie other planes). The sky was beautifully dark and vast. The scene reminded me of a fairy tale, and we were flying towards a hidden castle. It also made me wonder how beautiful heaven is at night.

I was sitting on the left side of the plane, so when the plane banked to the right, the left wing pointed high into the sky. I happened to look out the window again right when that happened, and for a moment, I could imagine myself in outer space. Within my field of view there was nothing but dark sky and stars. Hundreds and hundreds of stars, all visible to my eyes because the layer of cloud we were flying above blocked out all the noise from the streetlights below. And because we were banking hard to the right, I couldn't even see the clouds. It really felt like I was in space. Sometimes I wish I persued my dream to be an astronaut.

Seated beside me was the reason for the other cool incident on the plane. My seatmate was a very lovely lady, older than me, and very beautiful. She was also returning home from the States, and being very amicable, we started chatting. When she was young, she had moved to the US from Iran for university, but after graduation moved back home. Tonight, she was on her way home from a reunion with her university friends, of whom she hasn't seen in 15 years!

She started to tell me about herself. After graduation, she went back home to Iran, and within 40 days, her father arranged for her to marry an Iranian doctor. She didn't know the man, but she didn't have a choice. She convinced her husband to move to the US because she missed her life in the States, but once they arrived, they found out he wouldn't be able to practice medicine until he recertified. In frustration, he moved them both back to Iran. They stayed in Iran for several years, and they had two children. The elder was a boy, and the younger a girl, but the girl was handicapped. While they were in Iran, her husband started to abuse her, both physically and emotionally. But she couldn't fight back, because of her children. Instead, she let him have his way, while trying to remain strong inside. She knew that only by submitting and being very very sweet to him would she have any chance of convincing him to move the family to Canada.

When they arrived in Canada, she worked hard so that her husband could study for the certification needed to practice medicine. One day he went to the States for training, and never came back. He had found a younger girl there, and decided he didn't want his wife and two children.

She applied for a divorce, and won custody of both childern. However, being a blue collar worker, she couldn't raise a handicapped child, and her ex-husband was not consistent in paying child support. She had no choice but to send her children to live with her husband, because at least then her children would have their needs provided for. Time passed, and her son chose to leave his father and move back with his mother. Because the daughter was handicapped, she didn't have any choice but to stay with her father.

Now she lives in TO with her son. She is so happy because her son is near her, she can provide for him including his university tuition, and she finds happiness in all the things around her, including her job. She isn't wealthy, but she keeps a positive outlook on life, and feels rich because every day she can help make someone else feel better about themselves.

What an extraordinary woman! We traded phone numbers, and will hopefully keep in touch. There is a lot to learn through suffering.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
-- James 1:2-4