17 September 2003 Wednesday - Travel Day - No Photos

I'm writing this on board a jumbo jet headed to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Today begins our trip to Turkey. Our trip started with a flight from Minneapolis to Memphis, Tennessee. The woman in the seat next to us was a middle-aged southern Belle who was returning home from a vacation with her husband whom she left in Montana. The most interesting thing about her was the fact that she was carrying her dog, a 11-pound schnauzer in a small handbag. She said she paid seventy dollars to bring the dog aboard. Early in the flight, the dog managed to escape from its small prison and walked under the seat in front of her. When I pointed out the fact to the lady, she was surprised. Shortly thereafter, the woman in the seat in front of her discovered the dog at her feet and was surprised. I thought she would be more scared, but she wasn't. Of course, the dog was completely disoriented, didn't recognize anyone, and like a normal schnauzer, it started growling at everything in sight.

The poor Southern Belle had to reach over the seat and retrieve her dog, with much difficulty and growling. I thought it was hilarious, being a dog owner myself. I could see where other people would have been upset, had they been in my place. I was just glad to help the woman, who obviously was having a long, trying day.

From Memphis, we are flying to Amsterdam, and from there we go on-after a horrendous layover-to Istanbul, Turkey. This may seem like a very roundabout way to get to Turkey, but the good part about this flight is that it is free because we used frequent flyer miles to get free airfare.

Our first day is pretty much spent on flying. We're hitting some severe turbulence now, so I'm going to stop writing.