Over the Really Long Haul

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At this point, we were 15 1/2 hours aloft. Time for more food! I again chose fish (the Indian meal had run out) and it was as good as the first meal. I had brought a bunch of stationery with me, thinking I'd use the hours to return to the glorious age of letter writing. Nah. Back to Jarhead. Then another inspection trip to the bathroom — which remained remarkably clean to the very end of the flight. As Flight 19 finally touched down in Singapore, some 9,000 miles and 18 hours and four minutes after takeoff, the passengers broke out in enthusiastic applause: a little celebration of man and aluminum. I was dehydrated from the dry cabin air, despite all those glasses of water. But I felt pretty good. Not exactly perky but not anything like a lab rat, either.