Final Destination and the Karma of Smugness..

    After a nearly 40 minute delay leaving Gatwick the 10+ hour flight was passed watching 4 movies, 2 episodes of Modern Family, 2 meals, and no sleep (I have never been able to sleep on planes and am especially irritated and jealous when I get up to use the lavatory and see all those slumbering people in the low-lit cabin).

    We landed in Oakland around 4:35pm PST and after some immigration delay (is the plane considered an immigrant?) the plane was allowed to finally disembark. Then the "dash" to the customs lines began. But fortunately, last year we purchased the "Global Entry" pass that gives you TSA Pre-check AND Customs Clearance by just scanning your passport and sticking your digits on a screen at a kiosk. It was marvelous!

    We cleared customs faster than it took to disembark! It was hard not to cast a smug glance at the long line of tired travelers in the customs queue similar to the ones given by those who have a Disneyland FastPass while others are stuck in the 90 minute line for the Indiana Jones ride. But, unfortunately, I did...(which set the wheels of Karma rolling) as we walked to a baggage carousel that looked like a prone mechanical monster spitting out suitcases from it's gaping mouth in un-digested chunks. I camped at a spot near its mouth only to see Margo waving and holding up 2 fingers indicating she had already hauled our two bags off the carousel and luck-upon-more-luck, we were gonna be like the first people outta there! 
    AJ was waiting right in front of the terminal and we were off to a long anticipated date with our own comfortable bed. We battled commute traffic and it took well over an hour and a half to get home, AJ, noticing our fatigue, carried our bags upstairs and placed them by our bed. Margo did a little un-packing and I longingly looked at my bed anticipating, with giddy excitement, the slumber that awaited...I put my suitcase on the bed to unpack some PJ's when aghast, I noticed...

THIS WAS NOT MY FRICKIN' SUITCASE!

    A moment of disbelief and paralysis was followed by the obvious and terrible realization that a trek BACK to the airport was inevitable, because, not only did I want MY bag back, but also, I am now worried that some poor soul thinks that a "Bloody Yank" has pinched his suitcase. So, AJ dutifully, and amazingly non-reluctantly, drove me all the way back to the airport to exchange the suitcase that looked exactly like mine (the suitcase was right next to Margo's bag when it was on the carousel so it was an easy mistake to make). The thought occurred to leave an apology note and a few quid inside the bag of the wrong luggage but I figured it would exacerbate the distress to the other party to think that not only had someone taken their luggage, but also, had rifled through it!  

     We finally made it home after a personal-best record 2-hour round trip from Brentwood to Oakland (I didn't even complain about AJ's speeding) and ultimately realized the comfort that is only found in one's own bed. I dreamed of roundabouts all night and awoke refreshed the next morning with the realization that Karma, that fickle cosmic force, can strike even when you simply "think" about feeling a little superior.

Alas, another life lesson.

Note: I originally posted this in November 2017 on Facebook but never archived it in my blog.