The last time I was in London
Was 20 years ago
How is that even possible
It feels like maybe a year or two
Or at most five
I remember in detail
Arriving at the Covent Garden station
And lugging our bags up
The out-of-order escalator
And walking two more blocks
To our hotel
After that trip we bought
Wheely suitcases
Because of that experience
I remember in detail
Arriving at our hotel
Checking in and needing to
Stow our luggage
For several hours because
It wasn’t check-in time yet
And stumbling back, bleary-eyed,
Sleep-deprived and jet-lagged to the Tube
To head to the British Museum
To do our best to enjoy the time
And wandering around there
In a daze
Sleeping with our eyes open
Until we could return to our hotel
And pass out for an hour or three
I remember in detail
The Italian restaurant around the corner
Where we went three times in two weeks
For the pizza, the wine,
The great staff and
The chance to feel like a
Part of the community
I remember in detail
The Titanic Exhibit at the
Museum of Nature and Science
The Science Museum next door
And my son having brought his
Boy Scout uniform
To wear when visiting the
Lord Bayden Powell Museum
I remember riding on the top of a double decker bus
And getting half-price tickets to see
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
And the changing of the Guards
I remember taking the bus out to
Stonehenge and passing
Sting’s house on the way
And then wandering Salsbury
To see the cathedral and have
High tea at a local shop
I remember going on a London Walks tour
Of Sherlock Holmes
And getting lost in the history
Of London and a tour of the HMS
And in Churchill’s Bunker
I remember going to Windsor
And spending the day at
Legoland
I remember being so impressed
With how clean and how beautiful
The park was
Despite all the visitors
I remember seeing the crown jewels
Made in legos
Just days after visiting the
Tower of London and seeing
Them in gemstones
I remember my son’s hat blowing off
When we were on a roller coaster
And one young man helping us
Retrieve it after the ride
I remember going to the Kings Cross Station
Of the Tube and
Taking pictures at Platform 9 ¾
I also remember being surprised
And delighted to see
Cadbury chocolates in the
Vending machines in London
I remember riding the Tube
Out to a nearby suburb of London
And walking through a neighborhood
To get to the Spy Museum
Where we assumed identities for the day
As we explored the history
Of spies in television, movies
And real life
I remember shopping at
A seven-story toy store
And weathering a bad
Rainstorm at a local coffee shop
And riding all the way across town
For the world’s best fish and chips
According to one travel guide
And they were almost worth the trip
I remember in detail the one day
That we were all worn out
My son, his dad and I
From travel
From sight seeing
From each other
And we scrapped our plans
Slept in
Read
Relaxed
Breathed
I remember touring the Globe
And the Tate Modern next door
And going to St Paul’s Cathedral for service on my 40th birthday
Then riding in a black cab
To The Savoy for lunch
And my 8-year-old son
Being surprised by the attendant
In the men’s room,
Then thinking that was cool
And asking for change for a tip the
Next time he went to the restroom
Then taking a black cab
To the Courtauld
And walking on that circular path
Feeling dizzy from the lunch champagne
And my birthday
And life
How could that have been
20 years ago?
But as I approach my 60th
Birthday in a few months
And do the math in my head
It appears that that
Is altogether possible
