The evening before last, Paolo returned from England…

It’s always hard to wrap your head around just how big this globe is…

He got on a plane at about noon (British time)…….he got off a plane 7:00-ish Eastern Standard Time here…

…..but in between, you add a bunch of hours…..fly away from the revolution of this planet (and the sun)……

…..scoop an ocean behind you…….

…..and Voila!

…..you are deposited in Tampa on a muggy evening…….

…..in the middle of a soft breeze with the smell of jet fuel exhaust and salty dead fish (it was low tide and TIA is at the top of Tampa Bay)…….

…..Tampa International Airport has an olfactory-ambiance all its own…….

…..it was easy doing a swoop through the arriving-flight/traffic-jam-jumble/pick-up lane…….

…..because, I was driving my dually…….

…..the big  #$%$@-ed winch on the front grill gets people’s attention, along with the six tires, extended hips…….and the everlasting scowl on face of the clenched-jawed/white-knuckled driver…….

…..Paolo was not put off…….he knows me…

…..he just tossed his luggage into the bed of my truck…….

…..launched into the already rolling, open door…….

…..and off we went in a wake of economy cars, soccer-mom vans, and flailing-flagged traffic officials…….

(maybe…just…maybe…I enjoy using my truck as a weapon and an extension of my insecurity and general lack of enjoying being in crowds………….or amongst homo sapiens in general…)

(maybe…)

…..and away we varoomed back to The Swamp…….

…..I made my younger daughter keep her seat belt on until we got home…….

…..that would stop her from shaking down Paolo for any chocolate that he might have hidden on his personage…….

…..while at the same time stopping her from crawling through the back window and into the bed of the truck to scavenge through his luggage for the same confectionary…….

……………………………AND later I discovered…….Paolo also brought home Maynards Bassett’s Licorice AllSorts…….

Thank you, Paolo  &  Maynard…..

…..from the bottom of my heart…..

…..Thank You…..