Take care of the elderly and the children

I'm in Asia. As the sun rises outside my window seat that sits just behind the wings of this massive plane, I'm grateful. Grateful that life seems to turn out, that what you need can come moments before you think it's never giong to reach you. I've been wanting to travel in general and, specifically to see Vietnam since my work on the 2000 film Green Dragon. I'm on my way. I'm there to consult on an animated feature film based on a popular children's novel. My collaborator is someone I met on that film 7 years ago. I'm immediately made comfortable by the Cathay Pacific flight staff. They're so courteous I feel bad if I raise my voice to be heard above the plane's rumble. One of them even helps me hoist myself over my seat mate and into the aisle when I have to go to the bathroom and this guy just won't wake up. The 14 hour flights breezes by. Makes me wonder is the plane pressurized differently? Something's up. I fall asleep and don't wake up with that choking insufficient air supply feeling. After my first nap, I realize I missed the late night snack. I'm not hungry at all but no way I'm passing up free food in the middle of the night. When I wake again, the monitor says we're 3 hours from our destination. How does 11 hours pass so peacefully? My first stop in Asia is Hong Kong. It's a quiet airport--even at the bustling security checkpoint--despite its enormity and Hong Kong's place as the New York of Asia. As I climb the escalator to my gate, there's a sign that says "take care of the children and the elderly." It's the phrase "take care" that holds onto me. It suggests deep concern love and affection for two classes of people that in the States are treated like a nuisance. I prepare to wait the hour until I board and catch a glimpse of a sign that lets me know I'm understood in Hong Kong-an area marked "resting lounge." In the lounge, 10 ergonomically perfect reclining chairs are enveloped by opaque glass. People stretch out and sleep. I join them and exhale in my chair, again grateful.