I have returned from Arizona and California after covering about 20,000 miles in the last three weeks. Many plane segments, one train ride, a 250 mile car ride, and some foot work were the modes of transport – no bikes, mopeds, camels, horses or elephants. On the way out to Delhi, we advanced 9.5 hours. What is it with that 0.5, why not 9 or 10? Of course there was the same time difference in reverse order back to Omaha followed by a two hour clock back move out west.

Arizona declines to go on daylight savings time. What is it with that? I guess that they have too much sun and do not believe that they need to save any. They do have a lot of sun and some of their public figures behave as if they have stood in the sun too long. So, it is appropriate for me to ask, “What time is it?” I can look at my watch, a nice new Titan given to me by one of our hosts in India, and get a chronological reading, but my body does not really care what my watch reports. My body still believes that it is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, thus I am still waking up in the middle of the night, returning to sleep around dawn. Yes, for now I sleep in shifts. I am in Omaha until my next trip, one week from tomorrow, and I should be able to return to a normal sleep cycle this week. This wacky sleep cycle has triggered some crazy dreams. Most are set in another country where I am about to miss a scheduled plane or train departure. Did the Wright brothers envision this kind of travel when they experienced their first successful flight 100 years ago? I don’t think so.

Now to my next question, “Where am I?” Counting my home, both bed and couch (the place I go to when I wake up in the middle of the night), I have slept in 11 different ‘beds’ in the last three weeks, although if I add the two long flights the number rises to 13. Should I count a plane seat as a bed? Well, some do. Thus, when I wake up, regardless of which time, there is a question of location. I am sure that the sensation will disappear in a few days, although it could return when I arrive in Chicago one week from tomorrow.