Jock's TravelBlog Because sometimes I go places

Somewhere over the Atlantic, Chicago to London

There is a video screen in front of me on the plane. Sometimes it displays our course, and the navigational facts: Local time, wind speed, distance to our destination, etc. Other times is plays movies and music videos. The latter are an odd mix of western and Indian. Travis will be played next to a traditional song, which will be followed by some fun pop ear pudding by a group call Strings. The reminded me of the Rembrants though without the harmonies. Then it will switch to a scene from a dance competition, then to what looked like a Canadian version of Candid Camera. There were movies, but I was dozing at the time and have no clear memory of them.

The map of our trip is very careful not to draw any borders between the countries. It's an interesting way to look at the world. I wonder if it would work? Or in the absence of national borders, would the world be more like ancient Grease, with City-States and their protectorates. Would that be better or worse?

I have no sense of my internal clock at this point. I've set my watch and laptop to Mumbai time, which at this moment is thirteen and a half hours ahead of Portland. Quite literally half a world away. We are turning into the UK, soon to land in London. It will be morning there, and we had just been served breakfast. In Bombay it is the afternoon, and I would be just beginning to contemplate what I wanted for dinner. In Portland I would have been asleep for two or three hours, and food would be the furthest thing from my head (except possibly for my dreams). I'm wide awake, though I have no idea how long that will last. So best to get these thoughts down while I am still cogent.

We are flying above the clouds. The are a pale field below us. Like someone had taken the green, green, grass of England and poured bleach on it. It looks like it has been freshly mowed, with the tire tracks in it. It's beautiful. I wish I could go walking in it. I wouldn't make it very far...