DEC-B-3
MICHIGAN VISIT-PHASE I—DETROIT—
AND A LONG DEPOSITION TO LEAVE LATE FROM
DETROIT THROUGH CHICAGO TO ARRIVE STILL LATER IN GRAND RAPIDS, FOR MICHIGAN
VISIT PHASE II
December 12, 2002
I am waiting through a long layover in ORD after leaving DTW late. I had left from this same airport in the morning after taking a taxi from the Marriott Lincolnshire, and when I arrived in DTW I was waiting on one level and the person scheduled to pick me up was on the United departure level one level up When the multiple phone calls straightened out this confusion due to the abandonment of one terminal at DTW and its blocked off status prepatory to razing it, I was picked up and delivered to the lawyers’ office for a deposition for the next four hours straight. That meant that I missed the scheduled flight for departure at 4:54, so that I had the law office call Milly to tell of the later arrival through a connection in ORD where I am waiting amid a whole group of coeds from Colgate College, awaiting a flight to DesMoines. The Central Standard Time zone here means that I will have an added hour to the three hours between arrival and departure for GRR, which means that I will arrive there at 11:00 Pm rather than the fashionably late dinner time of 7:10 PM, so that I hope that message has been sent forward and that no one took off to the airport to pick me up when in fact I would not be there for several more hours.
I am looking forward to a good traditional Geelhoed family reunion at the Christmas time. I have managed to come in at this time of year several years running, and had asked Milly if we could get the restaurant special dining room where we might sing and swap presents and take pictures of the newcomers. Milly was able to reserve a church hall for us to get together in this time and everyone is carrying something for all and we will have our Christmas party as we have had before when my Dad was alive, as the first of the four generations gathered.
Martheen and Don will be coming in from Denver for this event, and I can swap a few hunting stories with Tom Griffioen who had suggested that there may even be a chance to go out muzzle loading on Saturday. I did not carry either my muzzle loader or the hunting gear to use up in Michigan, but I would like to borrow some cold weather gear and go out to support the locals who might hunt if I were to drive a few deer to them.
But, it is Christmas, and the music and festive decorations have finally got to me after the commercial crush which is more than a little “off-putting” as the Brits would say. I think the getting together and the family sharing of many good things is the right time and place for this event. So, Phase II of Michigan’s visit is the reason I agreed to come up for the phase I that made this all an integrated trip in several venues. As carefully planned as it was some time ago, I had not counted on my airline carrier to go bankrupt on the day I took off, and the kinds of schedule slippage that leads to a scramble of re-arrangements as I have just pulled them off, but from here on we are in a holiday mode, and I am looking forward to Phase II of Michigan’s visit, followed by Phase II of Illinois visit!