I'm going on a trip somewhere, rather suddenly, apparently planned by my brother Steve. Several other people are with us. We're winding through the airport on the way to catch our flight.

It's a strenuous hike, through many twisting switchbacks and corridors, and I'm with someone rather slow, so we are the last to arrive at the mid-point, where we'll stop to rest at a snack bar. The rest of our party are already there, and as soon as we come in they pack up to leave.

I say "Hey, we just got here aren't you guys going to wait for us?"

My old friend Wade is among the group, and he gets annoyed at me. He says "we've been here for like ever, see we've already eaten a whole scrambled eggs breakfast! Forget it, we're not waiting." He seems pretty mad.

I answer that it's ok, they can do what they want, I just thought it was normal practice to take a minute to wait for the laggards to get a bit of a rest too (as it is in mountain climbing). He is still mad, repeats how long they've been waiting, and I again say don't worry, I didn't mean to make a big deal of it.

Wade and Steve, and a girl who is with Steve, pack up their stuff and start continuing upward toward the terminal. She says that when they get up to top, she'll climb down a little ways and see if she can get some pictures of "my handiwork", referring to two cairns of stones that I have built in the corners of some of the switchbacks. I hope to catch up with her later so that I can send my camera with her to get some pictures with it too.

We arrive some time later at a waiting area, which is indoors but grassy, and people are sitting around on the grass, including our group, waiting to be called for our flight.

I realize that I forgot to bring any books or magazines, which is really frustrating because it's a great chance to read, and I have three fresh National Geographics and one Economist at home, as well as "A Thousand Splendid Suns" which I've been excited to read. I ask Steve when our flight is supposed to depart, thinking that maybe if I have time I'll go home and get them, but we only have about 35 minutes.

So instead I wander around in the airport for a while, looking for a good read to buy. On an uphill ramp I come to a store with lots of interesting foreign and Hindu-looking objects and old books, and stop briefly to peruse them. The old Indian woman in a bright-colored wrap asks me if I need any help finding something and I say no, actually, I was looking for some books in English.

"Oh! We have some books in English!", she says, and points to a few old dusty volumes on a shelf. "We have the Upanishads in English, and here we have the Rig Veda, you really should read that!"

I am looking for lighter reading, so after shaking off her attention, I continue back toward the grassy waiting area. As I'm walking I realize that I forgot to pack anything. No clothes, not even a suitcase. I suppose I could go buy some clothes when we get there (somewhere in the Eastern U.S., I believe), but that will be a hassle.

As I walk, I consider that maybe I should just reschedule my flight - or just "miss" it and get the next one, so that I can have a few minutes to go home and pack.