I LOSE COUNT after 13,
how many checkpoints I pass through -
check-in, customs and border patrol, security, the gate .
I don’t count the Dunkin Donuts in San Pedro Sula airport.
But at 3:30 PM in Houston,
Customs is mobbed,
and afterwards I opt for an honest-to-goodness burger,
which comes with mustard on it,
just the way I like it!
In Ohio you have to ask special.
Waiting for the second flight,
teammates get in a last game of euchre
while cell phones charge.
WALLY TEXTS to let me know
he’s been invited to ride shot-gun
in one if the rented vans
that’s picking up,
so he’ll see me in Columbus.
2-1/2 hours sooner than expected!
I let out a whoop
and read it to the team.
At 3:30 AM,
22 hours after rising in Honduras,
I walk into my own house.
Home,
with a bag of coffee beans
and my unused lempiras.
Home safe.
