Where Were You Last Year?

To torture myself, I like to play a game called, “Where were you last year?” I look at my pictures from a year ago to see how life has changed. Sometimes my phone does this for me…kind of a cruel joke it plays on me actually. But anyway, what a difference a year makes, right? 

JAN 16, 2020 I had the awesome privilege of visiting the Taj Mahal on a layover in Delhi. The captain had booked a van and private tour guide. He invited all who were interested to join him. I was interested! So was my blonde flying partner. She was the only blonde person at the Taj Mahal that day and she was very popular. Everyone wanted to take a picture with her. And, as a former model, she did not disappoint. She was a master poser.  

My impressions of India: The colors are more saturated, the flavors more intense. Pigs and cows roam around the streets like South American dogs. And dogs raid the trash like New York City rats. The people are warm and friendly. The food! surprising, and complex. And that’s about all I had time for on my one and only layover. Obviously, I need to go back. 

*Speaking of bright colors… The captain wore an electric neon green outfit from head to toe, not just his clothes, but his accessories: hat, shoes, sunglasses. It actually came in handy. It was crowded, but he was impossible to lose. I thought his outfit was just eccentric, but there was more to it. Turns out he was wearing Seattle Seahawks gear. He’s Native American and the Seahawk’s logo is a Native American mask from his tribe and it held a lot of significance for him. The mask symbolizes re-birth and an animal to human transformation. The captain explained that he had experienced a “re-birth” following a cancer scare. He said that he wasn’t a very good person before the diagnosis, but following that struggle, he had changed his life. He had started a charity benefitting his tribe, and now holds a prominent position as a dancer. He travels all over the world taking his picture in that neon green outfit bearing the symbol of his people and of his own personal transformation from animal to human. 

You know what they say…everyone has a story