So I have been missing from this page, but believe me, I have not been inactive. But let me not be tedious with all my doings. The central thing is that we got the Merkles off!

In fact, they arrived safely in Oxford not long ago after a smooth trip from Moscow to Seattle and from Seattle to London. However, according to a couple of cryptic emails from Ben and Bekah, the smoothness of the trip ended at Heathrow, for Bekah says it was “a completely unbelieveable scene.” Bekah writes: “We missed the bus due to unforeseen issues, and then the next bus wouldn’t let us on, and then we finally caught the third.”

My feeling is that any bus driver who would look at a travel-weary family of seven standing on the curb in a foreign country with fourteen pieces of luggage, five children, and seven carry-ons and not take pity on them and squeeze them in one way or the other ought not to be trusted to drive a bus.

Then Ben writes: “Travel went very smooth until Heathrow. Then we had a serious woop. I even got to push the emergency stop on the moving sidewalk. Very exciting and I am sure Bekah will tell you all soon.” So we await the story. Somehow I think that Bekah’s “unforeseen issues” and Ben’s “serious woop” are the same event.

So I’ll keep you posted!

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