While it’s always pretty terrific to touch down at JFK, the long-haul flight comes at a reasonable cost to one’s equilibrium. The anxiety-inducing minutes at the immigration desk straight off the plane at Los Angeles International Airport, the mind-numbing contemplation of other people’s luggage at the baggage carousel, the indigestion caused by eating too many in-flight meals out of sheer boredom and the self-recrimination that automatically ensues, and the inevitable jetlag.
After a 12-hour sleep my first night, I awoke refreshed and chipper, and met some friends for dinner later that evening. Unfortunately I only got about two hours’ sleep last night, which caused me almost to tip forward into my brunch this morning. I hurried back home and dozed on and off all through the afternoon, while the late summer sun beamed through a cloudless sky and everyone else played outdoors.
