By Annie Dudley
When he was 43 years old, John Dudley packed his bags and drove to O’Hare airport to catch his flight from Chicago, a layover to New York, then to Hong Kong.
On his flight, Dudley had secured a ticket in business class, in which he had refreshments and a nearby bathroom, and a lounge at the airport before his flight.
He took a layover in New York, in which he also waited in a lounge, which was “even better...you could have your own personal bathroom, with a shower, meeting rooms,” Dudley said.
Once he reached Hong Kong, the airport was busy but well organized. “I knew where I needed to go,” he said. He took a taxi to his hotel, The East.
Then he went to the office. It was a difficult time in Hong Kong, with many protests, so it was unsafe to take public transportation. Instead, Dudley took cabs throughout the city.
He went to China (at the time, Hong Kong was not considered a part of China) and went to a factory to review Minion toy samples. There were fifty designs as a part of the very complicated program. It had a very tight timeline and the toys had to be perfect the first time. Dudley and a coworker traveled to see the toys onsite to prevent imperfections before they were shipped out. This process lasted about two weeks.
Dudley really enjoyed the weekend. At this time he was alone, and instead of being scared or bored, Dudley walked the entire northern coast of Hong Kong. This, which took ten hours! andThis was thehis most enjoyable sightseeing he’d donehad in a long time.
After his trip was over, he had a layover in San Francisco. Although it wasn’t as relaxing as the New York lounge, Dudley was just happy to be only four hours away from home.
When Dudley reached Chicago, he saw his family waiting for his arrival by the luggage carousel. He was home.
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