Days 1 and 2

.
Miami to Glasgow
by Fr. Marty

Ms. Estella Pino
The first angel that we met
at the Miami United counter
She was as nice as one could get.

A dedicated first class check in line
for our group of twenty-one
And with airport seeming empty,
in a short time we were on.

An uneventful flight
from Miami to DC
And when we transferred to our London flight
eighty boy scouts did we see.

They performed an impromptu can-can dance
That bought some uncomfortable stares,
Some asked, "Are they all on our flight?"
(It was more like we were on theirs.)

Yes, we were all on the same flight
A wide-body number 918
but they all had to sit in back
And for us "economy plus" was great
(Thank you angel Estella).

Our blessings seemed short-lived
for when at Heathrow we arrived
the flight to Glasgow was canceled
and for the later 11 am flight we then tried.

It was looking great
when the agent told us "Yes,
don't worry about your luggage
It's checked through-you can avoid the customs mess."

Even then it was lines through security, and then immigration
and more security still
But we finally reached the gate
with three hours left to kill.

In compassion for our trouble
they gave us vouchers for food and such
the pilgrims learned that three pounds worth
didn't buy you very much.

Then out of the blue with less than an hour
with energy starting to sag
the same agent came back up to us
and said, "you must go collect your bags."

"But you told us 'no' not long ago,
and now you've changed your mind?"
There's forty-five minutes before the flight -
you've put us in a bind"

But teamwork won the day for us
the pilgrims twenty-one
they girded up their loins and off
we charged from where we once had come.

A half mile trek to terminal one
we moved with a rapid flow
only to find when we arrived
we didn't have to go.

"You mean we've come this far without a need?
What was that agent drinking?"
The look and words from the supervisor's face
revealed what he was thinking.

So off we charged back through the lines
back where we all had started
we all arrived back at the gate
for last call and departed.

This more than had done us in
we boarded Glasgow bound
the entire group fell fast asleep
before we left the ground.

The adventure then continued
when we reached our destination
The airline that confounded us
would cause more consternation.

Our thirty-three bags did not arrive
we have no clothes, no rations
We've been awake now a day and a half
this pilgrimage is no vacation.

But the mood of the group is still so high
their endurance is beyond belief
They've gone to bed to rest their heads
some sleep will bring relief

What have we learned in just one day?
That a pilgrimage is not just "church stuff"
Its the bond that forms between the ones
united for a purpose.

Fr. Marty dictated this to Barbra Wegner and added a footnote that 27 of the 33 pieces of luggage have arrived and will be distributed to the pilgrims in the morning They are all sleeping now. Tomorrow they are off to Edinburgh.