Well, Frank, you have some clout there. Stage 1 and stage 2 are
complete as I write this. Spent all night until 4 AM packing up mine
and SWMBOs stuff (she packed herself before she left town Monday for
her daughter's wedding, and I just densepacked to get more stuff in).
Got the 16 crates into a friend's UN vehicle (with mental images of a
crowd of rabble rousers torching the van), and got through the gauntlet
of handlers, guards, extortionists, and gawkers at the AirFrance
terminal, and after the nice lady picked her jaw back up off the floor,
I managed to get it all checked in (each box at precisely the
maximum allowed weight) and got it paid for. Of course, the baggage
ticket was more than my seat...at least they could have bumped me, but
no.

Anyway, other than a fenderbender on the way home with Congolese people
climbing all over the car saying things like "donnez-mois les argent!!
Mundale, donnez-mois!!", it all went through kinda smoothly.

Now, 45 minutes to take a shower, and my ride to the airport is on its
way. I feel like an elephant just got off my shoulders. Lemmee
see....what shall I drink first on the plane....

--riverman