A Hard Day's Night: The Place Character Is Revealed

Landing in LAX yesterday started simply enough. As I registered for my flight to Perth via Auckland I was asked if for $800 and a room for the night I’d be willing to postpone my flight by one day. Since my son is going to school near LA I thought that would actually be nice to stay and spend some time with him. They said they needed nine spots and I was the first volunteer so I should plan on staying. In the end, they did not need it so I canceled the plans I’d made with my son and stood in line to board, illogically feeling $800 poorer.

There were lots of children on the flight, all full of energy and excitement, though many had brought their wheel chairs along. I settled in and started watching My Sister’s Keeper being warned by the person next to me that I’d soon be needing Kleenex. The cabin was unusually hot and after take-off it grew hotter. The pilot acknowledged the temperature but said they would soon have it adjusted. About ninty minutes into the flight they changed their minds and said after dropping fuel we would be returning to LAX to either fix it and move on or go to hotels for the night. There were so many interruptions I never did get absorbed enough in the movie to need Kleenexes although I saw the whole thing.

A cheer went up when it was announced that we would all be staying at the Hilton. I wondered how long it would take to process 384 passengers. The answer is long. I arrived at my hotel room about 3:30am but learned later that the group with the children in wheel chairs didn’t lay their heads dowm until 6:00am. Our wake-up call came at 10:00 and I joined three people who called themselves kiwis and laughed that Brits and Americans call some silly fuzzy fruit kiwis.

When they heard about my upcoming race, they had a good time with me, telling me that great whites come to the mouth of the river to spawn and of course I’d be encountering crocodiles. They went on to say that kangaroos would try to knock me off my bike unless I weaved but weaving would attract the wombats and that was serious. If the devils showed up forget about it. They concluded their jest (oh, how I hope it was a jest) by saying “you’ll be alright, just don’t look back.”

It was interesting to hear their commentary on Americans which they toned down considerably once they knew I was one. They said that whereas they grumble among themselves; Americans are quick to demand remedy and justice. They said they were passed by maybe thirty Americans in lines who were escorted ahead. Since New Zealand Air kept referencing their special elite passengers I suspected the move had more to do with ticket class than nationality but they did have a point. Some people, probably Americans, were more aggresive about getting through the many lines than the crowd that was docile if not happy.

I don’t really think it’s a bad trait to take action as long as it’s done with respect and fairness. I also noticed that despite their ctiticisms when they asked me if I was American I was proud to say yes. So I still have a bit of a journey ahead of me to get to Perth. Should arrive late tomorrow at best. Meanwhile, the excitement builds to be part of Team USA and hopefully standing in lines for hours hasn’t prevented my leg from healing. I actually feel pretty good today.

I almost fell asleep standing up in the final line last night. I’d been up for 24 hours after only a couple hours of sleep the night before. So maybe this is training the debut in randonnering I’ve been considering. Sleep deprivation is a miserable feeling. I don’t know if combining it with cycling will somehow elevate it or not. The goal is to get to the Aug. 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris ride and finish it in less that 90 hours and therefore qualify to sign the book of everyone who has completed this feat since the 1800’s. I’m a bit sketchy on the details but recently met some people who have done it. I can decide if it makes any sense later. This week I need to get to Perth, swim, bike and run as best I can and finish this year long adventure.

So here I sit at the LAX airport again in high hopes that my breakfast mates were just having a bit of fun with me and all the triathlete eating crocodiles have left Australia or at least are willing to give me a head start. Sure hope they don’t like stragglers.

In the cycle classes I teach I always tell my participants to notice their form when they are tired because what they return to when they are tired is their ingrained form. I think the same is true of our character when we are tired. I’ve always thought the saying “a drunken man’s word’s are a sober man’s thoughts” rang true. A goal of Exercising Values is to instill good character that will become habit and will be revealed not just in times of tragedy but also in times of irritations and inconveniences. The 384 did very well and the children in wheel chairs were perhaps the most easy-going. Their care givers seemed exhausted but still patient and polite. They might have benefitted from someone, even an ugly American, who knew how to insist that the children be given priority but that’s just speculation.

When teaching character some may need to be guided toward more patience and others toward more assertiveness. That’s why parents are in the best position to teach character. They know the habitual patterns of their children. They know what comes out when they are tired. Exercising Values is there to assist parents do what they do best: love and lead their children. It’s time to line up. Thanks to some teacher sometime I won’t push.

Now it's Tuesday. I arrived in Perth late last night. I'm writing  just ready to go for a bike ride. It's beautiful here and the hotel is overflowing with athletes that were mostly returning from runs when I went down to eat breakfast at 6:30am. I felt behind. The long trip including the full hotels that met us in Auckland is now just a hiccup on what I believe will be a perfect trip. I'll let you know.