Boston Blatte

My next door neighbor, Per, is stuck in Shanghai. He was supposed to fly home on Saturday but with most of northern Europe’s airspace shut down since Thursday, no one has been getting in or out of Sweden. Not via the major airports at least. So far on Sunday there’s been one jet, yep, ONE, which landed in Kiruna, about as north as you can get and still have more humans than reindeer in sight.

I know tens of people who have been stranded or grounded. It has kind of surprised me how many people I know (or know of) who fly in such a short time span. Everyone’s holding their breath for Monday morning when there’s a chance flights might be resumed.

In a long stretch you could say that the greatest international terrorist goes by the name of Eyjafjallajökull. Just trying to pronounce that tongue twister ought to be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

This is utter turmoil and economic chaos  has got to be bin Ladin’s wet dream. I bet he’s kicking himself in his damp cave that he hadn’t come up with it.

Just post 9-11 I deliberated on whether I should attend my godson’s baptism in Switzerland. While I wasn’t afraid of flying, I was nervous about getting stranded so far from home had some military action taken place. I calmed myself by thinking that besides train and bus in the worst scenario I could walk.

My neighbor has been looking into the Trans-Siberia Railway.  While it does have a romantic overtone, I can’t think the week clanking along the rails through the tundra is a preferred travel option.

And it would still leave him stuck in Russia.

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