24. March 2023

Man, am I sick. How shall I make it to the airport, through the three hours flight and the another 2,5 hours train ride to the North? My body is empty and yet there are these violent attacks when I have to go to the loo in the next 10 seconds.

Yesterday I got some charcoal tablets from the pharmacy, an old household remedy for diarrhoea. The pharmacist doubted their effectiveness in my case, but I insisted. 

This is the remedy that saved me. I overdose the intake of the charcoal tablets and slowly an effect shows. I have severe stomach and kidney pains, but I no longer have to run to the loo all the time.

Slowly I tidy up my home and prepare to leave the house. Outside, glorious sunshine touches my skin and soothes my spirit, the blue sky is like balsam on my soul.

I drive off to the airport. I arrive there without a disaster. To check in Omar's suitcase, I look for a self-service baggage drop-off. There is none. I have to stand in the long queue at the counter. Normally this would not be an issue, but in my condition it was hell.

It was then time to go to the counter. In the check-in process, a somewhat bitchy Ryanair attendant came up to me and said: "Your suitcase is too big. Please come with me to measure it." I had travelled with this cabin suitcase several times before without any problems. Well, the suitcase was the right size, but the feet and wheels were too long. "Seventy euros!" the clerk snarled. Fuck. Seventy euros for an old suitcase that I'll have to dispose of anyway. I run to a handbag and suitcase shop, see a cabin suitcase for 59.50€. OK. I quickly paid, and then unpacked the old case and repacked the new one, and returned to the check-in queue, that was slowly dissolving. The counter was due to close in a few minutes. 

Finally I am on the plane.

Meanwhile, Omar dashed through Germany, in the rain 

We left on time and arrived in Hamburg 20 minutes early. The almost three hours in the air had passed without further embarrassment. My kidneys hurt like hell.

To my greatest delight, Susanne had given up her university lecture to prepare for exams and had come to the airport to pick me up. How nice a warm hug would have been, but the fear of infection made us cautious. 

Luna, our little dog, was beside herself with joy when she saw me. Dogs are like that. I guess that is what makes them man's best friend.

Omar's wife Kathie was also supposed to be at the airport to pick up Omar's suitcase. To my great joy, however, Omar himself suddenly approached me. "I just got home. Everything ok." - He had driven through Germany in one big stretch, from Strasbourg to Hamburg, in order to be at the airport in time. What a guy. I was glad he had made it through the trip on his own. The German motorways and the rainy German weather couldn't have bothered him.

Susanne drove me home safely and told me on the way that our son Ben-David had been in a total loss accident. Fortunately, nothing had happened to him. That is the main thing. Jan-Eycke was in the process of cooking a great meal. In his adolescence he really got into cooking. What a joy! But right now, I couldn’t eat anything.

When we got home, I went straight to bed with a hot water bottle. During the night, I woke up several times to the sound of rain hitting the roof and the windows. "You're home," the rain whispered, "Sleep now. You're home."