Our hero departs...

The journey begins with our hero (I’ve always wanted to narrate myself in that role) getting on the plane in Calgary dead-tired after several days on minimal to no sleep. I normally really enjoy trying to see all the movies offered on a flight, but this time, I just slept the entire 7 hours to Heathrow. A 25-hour layover is not much fun. UNLESS… you happen to have a friend of a friend who has offered you a place to crash.

I had a fantastic time with Jenny who took me to her local pub for a friend’s birthday-party, fed me and gave me a bed in her home in the BEAUTIFUL town of Bath Spa. I couldn’t get over how gorgeous the area was. I went for a run in the morning and contemplated not coming back, since the path along the canal was so spectacular.

Turns out I could have kept running since British Airways and BMI couldn’t coordinate things and find my eticket in their systems. (The ticket was issued by BA, but the flight was operated by BMI). Their phones were not working and I ended up running back and forth between the two offices until I missed my flight! Of course, both companies claimed that the other was responsible. After several more hours of getting the run-around, I was finally given a hotel-room while I waited for my flight the following day. It was a pretty frustrating experience.

The funniest thing happened when I tried to use the pay phone to tell people in Ethiopia about the changed flight. I couldn’t get through so I dialled the operator. After giving the complete number, I waited for a moment and then heard the reply “I’m sorry sir, that particular country-code is blocked, can I connect you to a different country?”

“What!? NOOOOO! (Narrator: Our hero is both devestated and highly amused.) I don’t want to talk to someone in a different country! I need to cancel my airport pick-up.” I tried again with the cell phone number of my friend in Addis. Same thing… “Can I help you make a call to a different country?” I could hardly believe the sincerity of hopeful helpfulness in her voice. I hung up, slumped against the wall and slid down to the floor, laughing and laughing at the insanity of it all. And so began “Just About Crazy”.