Day One: Glasgow - A Walk With Death

Photo: Happy 23rd birthday, Adrienne!

On the train from Glasgow to Carlisle. The girls are all making "awwww" noises at the nursing sheep on the hillside.

Okay, something is seriously up with the airlines. Three of the last four flights I have taken have been seriously delayed. On the tramac in Newark we waited a good hour and a half to take off. Nothing like the six hours we waited to board the flight to Lousiville, but aggravating nonetheless when the pilot kept chiming in with promises of "10 minutes" then (15 minutes later) "5 minutes" followed by (a half hour later) "20 minutes." A passegnger was chided to return to his seat or we would miss our place in the take-off queue. How? Does the airline have hall monitors who report on such things?

On numerous occasions in the past tne years, Toni and I have dined at the Garden State Diner, located in Concourse C. It's a diner, there's diner food, and previous the worst service you could find anywhere. But when you want an actual sandwich and your other options are the Clown or Nathan's Famous, we opt for wet fries that take forty-five minutes to arrive.

Photo: An infant cemetery turned into a car park?

HOWEVER, they have really gotten their act together. We walked up - all seven of us - and were seated right away. And it was crowded. Our server met us in two minutes, took all our orders, and they came out fast. We were able to relax, and catch our flight in plenty of time ... more time than we accounted for because of the aforementioned delays. But at least we digested our fried food well.

Z. had a Trans-Atlantic Freak-Out last night (hey, that's the name of my new album, Trans-Atlantic Freak-Out!) She'd fallen asleep, but kept waking herself up, kicking MP and whining terribly. It last maybe twenty minutes, she was just inconsolable until she finally fell asleep. Toni reminded me that the exact same thing happened a year ago, last spring, when we last made this voyage. Weird. Just too much stress, exhaustion, the adrenaline rush of an anticipated trip winding down, turbulence, cramped space (the seats have gotten smaller for her, you know) and who knows what else.

Arriving was a great relief, and we soon settled into what I hope is a regular part of our journey together - not rushing to do anything. We sat around, drinking coffee for a while before we set off to catch a bus. It's Adrienne's birthday today, and sister remembered to bring a present. There's too many bags and people to dash off anywhere, we almost left Toni's bag on the first bus. Heck, we almost left my passport at home.

Photo: The hat is a dead giveaway - it's Sylvester McCoy!

The kids are awesome travelers. At least, they are at this age, I hope they don't lose that. We talk about all the things we see, and don't linger over stuff they don't express much interest in. And hey, today was a walk with death.

Any trip to a British cathedral is a festival of dead people, and I'm not just talking about the torture victim hanging from the tree. There are monuments to fallen soldiers, dead bodies uunder plaques under your feet, and tombs all over the place. But St. Mungo's is a very special place. Not only is there there cathedral (featuring Blackadder Aisle, but it's not what you think) but next to it is the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, which we unfortunately did not have time to really explore - though Toni did take a moment to tie a ribbon to the Couty Tree to remember Calvin and to give the tour some good juju.

Photo: A shining Necropolis on a hill.

And then there is the Necropolis, a cemetery set into, running up and set high on a hill overlooking Glasgow. Hundreds of prominent Glaswegans are resting there, including the William Miller, the man who wrote Wee-Willie Winkie.

(Toni keeps asking me if I am watching the scenery. Everyone else is asleep, but me, I've got to keep an eye on the livestock.)

Before we had even begun the trek up the hill, we came upon a small plot dedicated to dead children. The stone reads, "I will not forget you ... I have held you in the palm of my hand." - Isaiah 49:15 and there were a large number of soft animals and other soggy mememtoes left there. That was an auspicious sight, and also very sweet.