Airport

Arrivals. So much nicer than Departures. So bonding too. All the other people, I can easily cry to see almost anyone re-united.

A paper sign in front of me says 'Mrs Patel', I can't believe there aren't dozens of Mrs. Patels coming through. But when she arrives, a man hugs her, did Mr.Patel fear he may not recognise his wife? Had she been away so long?

Old ladies, I love seeing the old ladies, whether they are arriving to visit friends and rellies or whether they are coming back home, they are somebody's old ladies. Perhaps the depressing old ladies don't travel, or perhaps they constantly do, hopping from home to home, outstaying their welcome.

Then there are the people you recognise from way back, almost forgotten, but look, they haven't changed, well, maybe the hairstyle is different, and you can't even remember their names.
And of course they can't really be the people you knew, just types, people with similar mannerisms. That's all.

Even in the short time since I was last there, there have been improvements, newer boards, things have turned around a little. Timmie's is closed. But the big advertising poster for year round King Crab is still there, how could that be? We watch the men and women go out and do battle with the Bering sea to catch the crabs once a year, 'Deadliest Catch', a dangerous job.

The BA crew, the pilots in quasi-military uniform, catch the eye, make you turn and feel secure.

And then the first glimpse, way off, too far to really see, but a pace, a mannerism, and then as they draw closer, the moment is finally there. They are there.

Today, the jetlag, me too in a way, after two nights of very bad sleep. And Austen trying to get used to driving the hire car with our bizarre road rules and signs and oddly placed crossings. There is no handbrake. Today local stuff for local people. Canadian stuff, Costco, the Nature Park.
Alex to the bank, the Mall.

I can't believe they're here. In a very, very good way.