Before I return to Portland for my next work adventure, I wanted to comment on two experiences I had with airplanes on Guam. I was there in the middle of the Viet Nam War. At the time, Nixon was President of the United States. He had said unequivocally that we were not bombing Cambodia. I sat at night in my hotel room in the north of Guam and watched B-52 bombers take off from the Air Force base on their way to bomb Cambodia.

Later, when it was time to fly home, we were scheduled to depart on a Boeing 747, a jumbo jet which held passengers in three sections across, with I think about 12 seats in each row. The plane was comfortable and meals were hot and good, so flying for hours was less of an ordeal than today. However, this plane was first coming from Bangkok, Thailand. Security forces surrounded the plane and we weren’t told what was going on. We waited in the Guam airport staring at the plane for a long time until we were finally able to board.  It would have been likely that drugs were being smuggled into the United States on this plane. However, when we were finally let on board, we learned that they had feared that the plane had an explosive device aboard. Needless to say, all the good food, comfy pillows and warm blankets did little to reassure me on the way home.

But all went smoothly, and I returned to the office the next Monday to resume my writing work.