I have had an interesting day. I celebrated at two services with just a couple of hours sleep. Okay, that’s not totally true, I had three. And of course I had a very long and stressful (that is clearly an understatement) travel day on Saturday. So I was so very pleased to be able to finally arrive home for a much needed nap. Amanda, Scott, and Ben would be heading home from visiting Steph, and as long as the dog or cat didn’t make any noise, I would be unconscious.

Although I wish I weren’t, I am writing this blog entry from what feels like an empty terminal at one of the nation’s busiest airports….Washington Dulles. Why I am here is somewhat of a mystery, in that all I am trying to do is get home, but apparently my good friends at United Airlines want me to see as much of our great country as possible. My location is their fault, but the timing is mine. I was scheduled to get into Indianapolis at about 11:30 tonight, but when my schedule seemed to clear out I made the decision to try and fly home on “standby.” Of course I have never done that before, but now I understand that the word “standby” actually means “sit around a deserted airport for longer than you ever imagined possible.” I did get on the flight at 2 from Greensboro TO Dulles, and I DID get my boarding pass and foot on the walkway into the plane PAST the gate. But the gate agent came out saying “sir, sir,” and I knew it was over. The passenger who’s seat I was given walked up just after me. It was his seat, and I was happy to give it up, but it was close. And I was really blessed to see that he was a man who was handicapped and old. There was no way he should have been sitting here for five additional hours. It is hard on me, it would have been super hard on him. As I write this, he is already there. So here I sit, typing a post with a dead cell phone, and the ability to get online and post this if I am just willing to pay a fee…..an expensive one. They charge for Internet, they charge for bags (which they lose) they charge million dollars any time you eat a thing, and so far the only thing I see that they do not yet charge for is to use the bathroom. Last year I drove, and though it was a long and difficult trip, I will be doing that again next year I think. As I understand it though, next year we will be meeting in Houston, so I probably will need to be gassing up the car to leave next week. But in all honesty, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to be at Winter Conference despite the travel problems. I however will be even more thankful to be home. No one is home, (they are all in Missouri) and I have to do some laundry, get to bed and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the 9am service at St. Patrick’s in the morning, well at least bushy-tailed. But the good news is that I will be there! Goodnight my friends and God Bless! Tommy+

There is part of me that wishes I were already home, but of course that is not the case. I will barely miss my family as I arrive back home tomorrow and they leave to visit Stephanie in Missouri. I will miss Scotty reminding me that he is taller than me. I will miss Ben letting me know he is the boss of me. And I will miss Amanda not saying a thing but knowing she is the boss of me. So the dog and cat and I will be there alone tomorrow with me being in charge…..at least I think.

The coherency of such a post as this may surprise some, but I am standing by it. Tonight we met with many people in and interested in ministry, and to be honest I was impressed by them all.

The Winter Conference officially opened tonight (though we were already in meetings all day) and the biggest blessing of it all was to have the opportunity to hear a sermon from Archbishop Onesphore who is our new Primate. It was a marvelous time and a great way to kick things off. I was so happy to be a part.

Although I did not have a “dog in the mall,” (I think that is it or it’s a “horse in the race”) I did watch the end of the Superbowl tonight. And I want to congratulate my good buddy Joe Mlaker of Wisconsin (home of lots of cheese and cows AND the Green Bay Packers) for their victory tonight (not the cows, the Packers). And although I all know we wish it were the Bears, occasionally you have to let a team like Green Bay win to help combat the locals’ seasonal depression. Winter not only lasts 11 months up there (12 in a Leap Year), but if the truth be told, unless you live in Switzerland, wearing cheese on ones’ head is a listed disorder right out of the DSM-IV manual. (In Switzerland it is considered patriotic and is in their Constitution.)