Arrival

“Paging David Palmer, would David Palmer please meet your party at baggage claim nine”.

I was the party waiting for David by baggage claim nine; I was smelly, tired and just finished a long journey from London to Chicago and then Chicago to Minneapolis. To classify me as a party would therefore be incorrect; I was not in a party mood.

“Paging David Palmer, would David Palmer please meet your party at baggage claim nine”.

To develop my party mood further my baggage had decided to remain in Chicago, so I was standing pointlessly next to baggage claim nine with no baggage to claim.
After twenty minutes David bounded into the arrival terminal full of energy and enthusiasm, his hair had thinned a bit since I last saw him and his ponytail had been removed, but he was still like an excited child. I explained my baggage situation and his immediate solution was to take me to a party.

At that moment I found myself at a crossroads. It was 6.30pm and I should have been heading two hours northeast to a bible camp to begin lifeguard training the following day. I realized I needed to think carefully about my priorities.

The party was a big family event to celebrate a relative’s school graduation and there were quite a few people there that resembled Dave, which was slightly disturbing, as one Dave is quite enough! There were two huge silver beer kegs in the corner and a barbeque outside producing smells that made my stomach growl. I quickly found myself being introduced to both the local people and the local beer of Minneapolis. By beer number eight I was telling everyone that I flown in especially for the graduation.

At 11pm I received a call to say that my bags had arrived at Minneapolis airport, so Dave and I said our goodbyes and jumped into his Volkswagen van, got to the airport, picked up my bags, and then headed to bible camp. I had been trying to call the camp all evening to explain that I would be late, but nobody was answering the phone.

By 1am I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, I felt almost delirious from lack of sleep but Dave kept me talking because he needed to stay awake too, which was important as he was driving. Eventually we found signs to the lake where the bible camp was located and then further signs to the bible camp itself. We drove in, parked up and slept immediately.

The next morning I exited the van and quickly established we were in the wrong camp. Yes we were in a bible camp, but it was the wrong name. I walked around the camp looking for either a threatening caretaker with a shotgun chasing us off the property or a friendly caretaker willing to give directions. I found nobody. So we left fairly quickly.

It took twenty minutes in daylight but we finally found the bible camp where I would be staying. Dave could not keep me company any longer though as he was playing piano at church later that morning.

So I finish this post sitting outside the camp office at 8am, slightly hung-over and awaiting for someone to wake up and let me have a shower.

bx















Dave, playing a cornet, whilst jumping on a trampoline at the party














The van we slept in at the summer camp we didn't belong to.


















A nephew and his food!

bx