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Summer is the time of year to escape New York, and the summer of 1997 had the many hot and humid days that I wilt under.

The Men Here Are Gorgeous

Tony
2004-01-28 10:31:37

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Summer is the time of year to escape New York, and the summer of 1997 had the many hot and humid days that I wilt under. Luckily though, not every single day was unbearable. Also it was a particularly difficult time for me physically and emotionally.A nasty depression had fallen on me in the winter, for several uncontrollable reasons. I'd only started to take one of those wonder-drugs that was an anti-depressant (and I hoped would kick in very soon.) It was the worst depression I'd ever experienced, and for ironic (or perhaps strangely adventurous) reasons, I thought just what I needed was a vacation in the place Americans are convinced is the suicide capital of the world: Sweden.

Well, at least it would be cool there, I reasoned. After a week of trying to find an airfare under $1100, I gave up and booked a combo air and hotel package that was about $1400 and would give me a week in a classy hotel right in the center of Stockholm. I'd fly on SAS, which is a high quality and dependable airline, and once I got out of the third world atmosphere of Newark Airport, the vacation could begin. The flight was calm and the time sped by...were the anti-depressants beginning to work? I felt very good, actually, except for a constant state of drowsiness.

We arrived about an hour early, which was fantastic to me. The Stockholm airport is in Arlanda, about 30 miles north of the city. It was sparkling new and extremely efficient. I had my bags, my Swedish crowns, and my ticket for the airport bus in less than half an hour. I was going to be arriving at my hotel very early in the day, but hopefully that wouldn't be a problem for the hotel staff.

As soon as I walked out of the terminal, I immediately noticed it was quite WARM. The bus was actually very hot, although it was the latest model and very plush. Once we got moving it turned out it had air-conditioning, so I was comfortable.It's ...