After six weeks in Mexico City, it was time for me and my cat, Sake, to come home.
To make the trip less burdensome, I decided to ship one bag via DHL. When I arrived at the office bag in tow I was the only customer. The young man at the desk appeared to think my request for shipping was peculiar, as though I’d asked him to cut my hair. A large group of locals, i.e., native Spanish-speakers, turned up and he took care of each of them 
which took about an hour. Afterwards, the guy seemed so unable to fulfill my request I called another DHL office and hustled there as they were closing for lunch at one and it was already 12:20.
At DHL #2 a young woman efficiently managed the process assuring me that “they only shipped express” so my bag would arrive the following day. (It didn’t but as all it contained was dirty laundry it wasn’t a problem.)
A friend staying with me at that point had arranged to be on my flight but, late in the game, American Airlines changed my flight time so that couldn’t happen. Off I went to the airport where at check-in the woman at the desk said she had to see my cat “to make sure
Sake at home
she wasn’t tranquilized.” (Of course she was with gabapentin, the Valium of the feline world.) I took Sake out wondering if the agent planned to shake her paw; the woman briefly glanced at her and said OK. Then to security.
So that only the carrier and not the animal goes through the x-ray screening, I removed the cat from the carrier and was told to carry her in outstretched arms through the people scanner. Then the screener motioned us to a platform and told me to hold the cat’s head firmly. She ran her hands all over the animal’s body, presumably checking that no drugs had been secreted anywhere in or on her.
The actual flight was routine and on time which I should be grateful for—it’s an airplane, not a spa or a restaurant. Because I had a large credit I flew business class which was beyond spartan: no pillow, no blanket, no entertainment unless you wanted to use your own earphones and phone or tablet and a meager, cold coffee breakfast.
We landed at JFK, deplaned, went through Global Entry and into a regular yellow cab relatively fast. The cab made loud grinding sounds until, on the Long Island Expressway with cars whizzing past,
Anyone else long for this model?
it died completely. Somehow the driver made it to the right-side railing so the traffic could pass. After a few minutes, I called Uber and explained. The Uber guy said he would come but it would take a while. It did. Finally he pulled up and I transferred luggage, self and cat to the new car.
Finally, both of us reeking of cat pee, (Sake’s a good traveler but by now been in her carrier well over twelve hours) we made it to our apartment. The ‘express’ bag I shipped turned up four days later.
Nuts are almost all that’s served on airlines and come in little bags that can be hard to open. These spiced nuts are delicious and come in the serving bowl you select.
Mexican Chili-Lime Nuts courtesy Patrick Calhoun
1 cup roasted cashews or peanuts
1 teaspoon chipotle powder (substitute smoked paprika unless you happen to have this around )
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300F
Add all ingredients for the chili-lime mixture to a bowl and mix well
Add the nuts and stir to coat
Put nuts on a lined baking sheet (meaning lined with parchment paper or use a Silpat) and put into oven
Turn off oven heat and let residual heat dry out the nuts for 10-15 minutes
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container
In Spanish these nuts are Cacahuates Enchilados. They could be offered with margaritas, mezcalitas, beer or cold water. Or you could serve cat kibble but I suspect you would enjoy the nuts more.