TITLE: The Test
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: January 02, 2020  4:37 PM
DESC: 
-----
BODY:
 Over the holiday, I realized something about myself.

 A simple test exists for determining when I have reached the
 enlightenment of the Buddha:  I will be able to fly without
 tension or complaint over delayed flights, airline tickets and
 policies, and the TSA.  

 The good news:  I survived another trip.  Special thanks to
 Felipe at United Airlines customer service for doing his best
 to help with a delayed flight on Christmas Eve, to Nic R. at the
 Cedar Rapids Airport for solving our problem, and to Joy, the
 flight attendant on the first leg of our journey, for a soothing
 excursion.

 I did more than survive, though.  Once in Boston, my wife and I
 had a wonderful time visiting our daughters for the week between
 Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve!  I wrote
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2011-09.html#e2011-09-01T16_09_04.htm">
   once</A>
 about my older daughter leaving for college.  Both are graduated
 now, making their way out in the world as adults.  This was our
 first holiday away from our home -- what used to be their home
 -- and in their new homes.  I enjoyed spending time with them on
 their turf and on their terms.  We talked about their futures,
 but also routine life: recipes, movies, and life in the city.  On
 the last day, my older daughter and I made candles.  It was an
 unexpected joy.

 For us, a trip to Boston includes visits to a museum whenever
 possible.  This trip included three: the Harvard art museums, the
 Isabella Stewart Gardner, and the MFA.  My daughters showed me
 paintings they have discovered on their own visits, and I shared
 with them ones that I like.  I usually discover a work or two on
 each visit that grab my eye for the first time, or again in a new
 way.  On my first visit to the Harvard museum, one painting really
 grabbed me: "Leander's Tower on the Bosporus", by Sanford Robinson
 Gifford.

<CENTER>
<A HREF="https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/310953">
   <IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/art/leanders-tower.jpg"
        ALT="Leander's Tower on the Bosporus, by Sanford Robinson Gifford"
        ALIGN="center"
        WIDTH="400" />
</A>
</CENTER>

 I've been to the MFA a few times and have a few favorites.  It has
 a large collection of work by John Singer Sargent, a Bostonian who
 had a long relationship with the museum.  This time, his paiting
 "The Master and His Pupils" drew me in as it had not before:

<CENTER>
<A HREF="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/21447">
   <IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/art/master-and-pupils.jpg"
     ALT="The Master and His Pupils, by John Singer Sargent"
     ALIGN="center"
     WIDTH="400" />
</A>
</CENTER>

 Our evenings often brought movies.  We saw a new studio release,
 <EM>Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker</EM>, in the theater;
<A HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agatha_and_the_Truth_of_Murder">
   a made-for-BBC movie</A>
 about Agatha Christie; and a movie that has flown under my radar
 for twenty years, <EM>GalaxyQuest</EM>.  I enjoyed all three!  The
 Star Wars film has its flaws, but it was a fun and appropriate end
 to a series that has spanned most of my life.  We were lucky to
 stumble upon the Christie film while scrolling Netflix; it felt a
 lot like her mystery novels.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed
 <EM>GalaxyQuest</EM>.  So much fun!  How had I not seen it before?

 The trip ended as it began, with an unexpected delay that stretched
 an already long travel day.  Our time on the ground in Chicago at
 least offered the consolation of
<A HREF="https://twitter.com/wallingf/status/1212468403182723073">
   a computer malfunction</A>
 that echoed our delay, designed for a programmer: Javascript for
 the travel-weary.

<CENTER>
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/computing/javascript-error-display.jpg">
   <IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/computing/javascript-error-display.jpg"
     ALT="a '@KevlinHenney' from Chicago O'Hare"
     ALIGN="center"
     WIDTH="400" />
</A>
</CENTER>

 Again, though, there was good news: lots of time to walk with my
 wife, which was a good way to spend the day, and a good way to
 end our trip.

 Now, back to working on my enlightenment...
-----