We depart at 6:30 P.M.  Mom’s flying in First because, of course, you don’t put mama in the back of the plane at 75.  Not cool.  This gets us access to the Delta Lounge, where we are currently enjoying libations. This Delta Lounge is the largest lounge in the network.  Every time you enter, the Greeter welcomes you back as if an old friend.  “Welcome back Mr. Darcy.  Great to see you again.”  I appreciate the gesture, even if fictional.  

I’m reading a book about useful lying, and customer service is heavily featured.  No doubt my profile says something like:  Alert, alert, Platinum member, flies a lot, be extra nice, or else.  No disrespect to the hardworking folks in customer service.  I get it.  Lying is part of the gig, and being okay with them lying is our role to play.  I live such a privileged life that I am usually the one being lied to in this performance.  

However, my role reverses when I step into the hospital.  Every time I listen to a patient or their family complain about waiting in the E.R., I find myself remembering the blue waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the warm breeze, the slow, heavy, humid air which envelopes and welcomes you, the decadent movement of the palm trees lazily swa…  — “I’m so sorry you’ve been waiting that long.  Just terrible.  I’d be happy to try and get some information for you,” I say after a silence where I failed to notice they’ve stopped talking and are looking at me expectantly.  There is never information to get.  Even the E.R. nurses and doctors are waiting, usually on some other department.  I leave the patient, visit with someone else, hear the same complaint, have a coffee, and go back to the original patient and say, “I spoke to the nurses and they’re very aware of your situation.”  Patients feel a little better after and often apologize for yelling at me.  “Happens all the time,” I say.    

The lounges accomplish one main goal of my pre-flight routine:  Consume just enough alcohol to endure the comical process of boarding a plane but not be drunk.  (Key and Peele had a great sketch about boarding.)  I almost never fly completely sober.  If we crash on takeoff, the most dangerous phase of flight, I’ll be cool with my impending demise.  C’est la vie.  If a fellow passenger hits me in the face with their backpack, no worries.  Incessant welcome announcements about “… expediting the boarding process…” and mask wearing, all good.  Baby crying?  Miracle of life.  “Anybody with medical experience, please ring your call bell.”  Meh, I’m sure someone else more qualified will ring first as I am not very qualified.  Plus, medical emergencies have a way of working themselves out, eventually. 

I’m kidding about the last one.  I mean, they do, eventually, work themselves out but that sometimes includes death.  Obviously not a desirable outcome midair.  Paperwork and delays, mainly.  Plus people get weird when in close proximity to a body, I’ve noticed.  I wouldn’t mind.  They certainly wouldn’t turn suddenly and smack you in the face with their backpack.  I digress. 

We land in Paris at 8 A.M.  The flight is 7.5 hours plus a 6 hour time change.  I’ve been getting up earlier and earlier to shift my clock.  Today, 3 AM.  We’ll head to the apartment first thing and get settled.  We have some chores to do, like secure a French Health Pass for RBD.  Me and mom got ours right before they shut down the online (and free) web portal.  Also grocery shop.

Speaking of COVID, it’s still out there.  I suspect it probably will be forever.  France requires all foreign tourists to be vaccinated.  Same as the U.S. actually, and I suspect soon all countries will require non-citizens traveling to be vaccinated.  I am sad another barrier to travel will be erected.  That said, the people most likely to resist vaccinations are also unlikely to board a plane and visit a foreign country.  Plus, the foreign country may not want them anyway.   

We are required to scan the health pass wherever we go, anything indoor basically.  Everything is open to vaccinated citizens and travelers.  Like prior trips I will not dwell much on COVID during the trip.  It just requires more paperwork and contingency planning than before.  It is the cost of doing business now.   

Below is our rough itinerary for the week.  We’ll see how closely we follow it.  Plans are good to have, but we always feel free to chase down something interesting when something interesting arises.   

I will bid you adieu.  From JFK’s Terminal 4, Gate B26, good night.  

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11/21/2021
Depart

11/22/2021
Arrive
Check-in
Nap
Lunch
Grocery Shopping, Health Pass Procurement  
Whiskey Bar
Dinner

11/23/2021
Catacombs of Paris
Musee de Luxembourg – Vivan Meyer Exhibit

11/24/2021
Rodin Museum
Tour Montparnasse & Sunset Cocktails
Mom’s Birthday Dinner @ Bistrologist

11/25/2021

Unscheduled

11/26/2021
All-day:  Versailles

11/27/2021
Le Marais
Musee Carnavalet

11/28/2021
Choco-Story
Bansky Exhibit
Pompidou Center – Georgia O’Keeffe
Cocktails at George (in Pompidou Center)
Final Dinner

11/29/2021
Travel Home