FLY TO ORLANDO, FLORIDA, U.S.A. - OPЛAHДO, ФЛOPИДA, C. Ш. A.

I got up around 8 AM. I am really going home today. I still can't believe it. It seems that I have been over here for a year.

I packed all the crap I have collected over the past 6 weeks. Then I went down for breakfast.

I went back to my room, finished packing, finished my postcards and got ready to leave. I picked up my bag- and the bottom fell out! Fortunately, I had another duffle bag and managed to repack everything.

I went downstairs at 11:30 AM, and checked out. We were all pleasantly surprised to learn that the promoter had paid all our incidental charges. Cool. I mean, I didn't have much of a charge anyway. One never does when someone else pays for it! In any case, no complaints there.

We boarded the bus, but we were missing Francis. I went in and called his room. A groggy voice answered- he was still sleeping! I told him that we were leaving in 5 minutes; he said that he would be down in 3. I went back to the bus. Francis is known to be late, but being late going to the gig is one thing- this was our trip home! Finally, after Peter went in and cajoled him, he appeared and we left for the airport.

It was a bittersweet trip to the airport, as would the entire trip home. It's kind of hard to explain, but it is very depressing whenever a tour ends, even if it is bad. You get used to things and the fact that you are so busy puts you in a certain mindset, so when you wake up and realize that everything is over and you're on your way home, it's almost depressing. I always called it "Post-tour Syndrome." For some reason, this time I was really sad to be leaving. I mean, yes, the tour had been very difficult at times, but all in all, it was great. The people we worked with, all of them, I would miss very much. Irina, Valentin, Cliff & Marina, Ulia, Sergej, Vladimir, Dmitri, Edward, Andre, Virgis and Giedrius.

I can also liken it, on this tour anyway, to something called "the Stockholm Syndrome," which, in a nutshell, is when hostages fall in love with their captors. I leave it to you to figure out what I am trying to say here.

Anyway, it was with mixed feelings that we made our way to the airports. Now, I was the only one who felt this way, everybody else was ecstatic to be going home. I am, simply put, a nutcase, but hey, a loveable nutcase.

We arrived at the airport, checked in and got our boarding passes. I had 48 kilos of luggage- nearly 106 pounds! Wow! Thankfully, Lufthansa took them without a word. I guess it helps to be a Gold Premier member.

Everybody was on this flight except for Robbie, Ingo and Lars. We all boarded the flight and settled in for the 2-hour journey back to the "world."

We landed in Frankfurt and we all said our goodbyes. We would be seeing each other in January, except for Fieldmarshall Gehrke. I said my goodbye to him, he is definitely a character!

I went to the gate to catch my flight to Washington, DC. It, of course, was miles away, I was hoping to stop and have weissbier before leaving, but I didn't have the time. Especially since I had to go through 3 separate security checkpoints. Safety first, I guess.

I boarded the United 777 and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had an "Economy Plus" seat with tons of legroom. I settled into my seat and awaited takeoff.

We left ontime and were on our way to the good old U S of A. I had a Bloody Mary and ate dinner. The food was culinary delight compared to the food I'd been served lately on the flights. I don't usually watch movies on flights, but I saw a movie called "K-19" on the schedule and read that it was about a Soviet submarine in 1961. I decided to watch it. I was blown away- this movie hit so close to home considering the tour I just did- it was all about the problems that Russia is still facing today- the fact that everything is half-assed. If you get a chance, rent this movie- it says a lot about the problems in Russia. Also, on a good note, the movie shows the redeeming qualities of Russia as well- the people. Which is exactly how I felt about our trip. Throughout our journey, through the problems, the lousy conditions, the one thing that stood out, the one thing that made everything worthwhile- was the people. The fans. The people. You have probably noticed that I always bring up "Wind of Change" when I speak of the show. Like I said, no matter how tough the day was, that was when you realized why we were there. That moment made everything worthwhile. We came to cities that have never had a rock band there before. For many, it was their first concert. When we went out and were asked for our autographs, even though we explained time and time again that we were only the technical crew, they still wanted our autographs. A piece of us to take with them, a memory, a memento. They were so excited that we were there, they wanted something to hold, a moment of time in their grasp. It is a daily struggle for most of the people over here, we were a welcome change for them, something to take their mind off of their daily life, something to give them hope for the future. There will be more bands following us. But for now, we were it. These people take life one day at a time. They have to.

I slept a little on the flight, but it seemed to drag on forever. We finally landed in Washington 9 hours later. I walked off the plane and felt like I was in Oz. I went through Immigration and got my luggage. I walked straight through customs with no problem at all and rechecked my luggage. I walked to my gate, which was, oddly enough, the same gate we had used when I left for Russia, nearly 7 weeks ago. I went to the same bar and ordered a nice, cold American Miller Lite. It seemed like I had been there 2 days ago, and at the same time, it seemed like a year. I enjoyed that cold beer. I called my Mother and several friends.

I headed to my gate and got on the flight that would take me home. We left at 9:30 PM, I was tired and slept the whole flight. I awoke as the pilot put the landing gear down. I could see Orlando's lights below me…my hometown. We touched down and taxied to the terminal. We arrived 30 minutes early. I just couldn't believe I was home. I got off the plane and headed to baggage claim. I got my luggage and went outside. It was warm, probably 80 degrees. What a change. I called Barry, he was almost there. A few minutes later, he showed up, we loaded my bags and started home. We stopped at a 7-11, it was weird; I hadn't been in a convenience store in 2 months. I bought a 6-pack of Miller Lite and a bag of cheese popcorn. Heaven.

The drive home was about an hour, Sunday night, no traffic. We pulled up into my driveway- home. I opened the door and there were my cats, patiently waiting for me. I often wondered if time was relative to them- did they think I just got back from a trip to the grocery? Or do they have a concept of time? In any case, they seemed happy to see me. Barry left and I hugged all of the cats. I looked around my house- again, it seemed as if I had just been here, and, at the same time, it seemed like it had been a year.