It gets harder and harder to leave each time I come to this country. Once again I am faced with leaving LOS and  returning home and going back to work. This time is especially difficult since I face the prospects of becoming a father in the near future. As usual, my last  day starts with the sun blasting through the front of the house at oh-not-so-dark-thirty. My attempts to sleep until I absolutely must rise and leave for the airport are futile. I can't eat this morning. I have no  appetite and I am not in a mood for food. I am running around checking everything to insure I have missed nothing and have all of my stuff packed. Pete seemed to think I would not have enough room for everything but I  have a knack of not buying more than I have room to pack up. The same held true again this time. I had brought along a spare pillow (for my bad back) that could be left and trashed if need be should room become needed.  Well, I made a minor miscalculation. I brought along a new pillow that I had recently purchased. I did leave it behind but Da said she would bring it home if she had room. She usually has much more luggage room coming  home than going over…strange how that works out. About 0940 Tilah loads my luggage along with that of Nit's father who had been at the house for a couple of days. We take off for the airport at 0950 and I face that  long last ride to Don Muang. It's only a ten-minute drive but seems to take forever when I'm going back stateside. This place really feels more like home each time I come here. Along the way I receive a call from Gene  Ponce. He wanted to wish me well and thank me for the reunion as well as to say good-bye. After a brief chat the call ended and so did the ride. Nit and I get out of the car, remove my luggage and head inside. As we  get in line we run into Tony's wife Somjai. She had not met Nit. I introduced them, wais were exchanged and Somjai told me that Tony and the Galvans were already in line. I caught their attention and waved. Nit and  Somjai walked around to the other side of the terminal where we would meet up after checking in. Tony, Dave, Dan and myself were in line to check in when I discovered that Dan and Dave had arranged to get to the  airport via a taxi that was operated by a man who was an old baht bus driver from back in our day. It was apparently a stroke of luck as they had met this man a few days before and had taken them and Bill Miller on a  day run to Bangkok. It seemed kind of fitting that they return to Bangkok in this manner. Baht bus drivers drove like hell then because the more runs they made…the more money they made. I'm sure time has tempered his  driving but somehow I doubt it. After checking in and finding all of our seats in close proximity but not together except Dan and Dave's, we gathered with Nit, Somjai and some relatives of Tony and Somjai on the  opposite side of the terminal. Instead of finding seats or going to a restaurant we just stood there talking and taking some last pictures. I had to make a photocopy of my passport for Nit, the Galvans did some last  minute shopping and we readied ourselves for the last minutes with our loved ones. I still don't believe we just stood there talking for over an hour. We had all purchased our exit tax cards. At 1130 we said good-bye,  kissed and hugged the girls and passed through to passport control. After passport checks at immigration and stamp in our passports we were off to the gate. It seemed like an unending walk to the gate but it was really  quite short. It seemed long because I was leaving someone behind. After a few last pictures, we were called to board our flight that would once again take us from the LOS back to the land of the BIG BX as we used to  call it. I don't call it going back to the world anymore. Since I consider Thailand just as much a home as the U.S., it is unique feeling and as I have said, it gets harder to leave each time I come here. We are  running late getting out of the gate at Don Muang but only 15 minutes. We take the runway and in moments we are winging our way south over the city of Bangkok. With a left turn our flight heads up country and on toward  the east passing over Cambodia, Vietnam, passing over the city of DaNang and on to Taipei, Taiwan, three and half hours away. After a 3-hour layover in Taiwan we board the flight for that long last leg to the states. It  seems like an eternity but after 2 meals, countless snacks and 4 movies, the sun once again rises and peeks through our airplane windows and we begin our descent in to San Francisco. At about 1515 we touch down at SFO. After clearing customs and immigration and gathering our bags we wait in the lobby for Dave's family to show up to give us a ride. Dan's family was already there and we said good bye and he headed off. When we do get  loaded up, Dave drops me at my car in the company parking lot on the back side of the airport. Tony rides on down to Dave's home and his sons pick him up there and deliver him home. Once again, a wonderful trip to LOS  comes to a bittersweet end. The trip has come to an end but I still have more to write… see you tomorrow!