Four Weeks (Part Seven)

October 2, 2008, 7:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Articles, Featured, Steve  | 4 Comments

Read the series in parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

A pleasant woman from American Airlines stopped me as I handed her my boarding pass. “You won’t be very comfortable in this seat. Are you okay with moving to an exit row?” You bet I was, all six and a half feet of me! A sign of smooth travel ahead, I hoped, and I enjoyed the extra legroom all the way to Dallas, where I landed to a voicemail from Josh Tate — who told me he and his family had just left the house, and might be a little late picking me up.

But I wasn’t supposed to land for another six hours.

I called back and got his wife, who couldn’t stop laughing once we figured out that they had read the time of my East Coast departure as the time of my West Coast arrival. They would simply make a day of it in Palm Springs; it was a welcome opportunity to come down the mountain and enjoy civilization.

While they waited in the desert heat, I took off from Dallas strapped into a over-the-wing window seat, behind a fully reclined snorer, beside two of the sort of teenage girls who buy three glossy fashion magazines, then find something to loudly discuss on every perfume-scented page. It felt right somehow when the plane started shaking. I was probably shaking too.

Turned out some of those important flying-type parts weren’t working quite the way they should, so almost two hours into the flight, the pilot announced that although he could still fly the plane just fine for the time being, it might be best for everyone if we landed early, you know, while we still had the choice. But not in Palm Springs (we were almost halfway there), and not in Albuquerque (just a slight diversion north). Back in Dallas. Meanwhile, the girl next to me took out a preschool “Fun Book” and a Ziploc bag full of crayons, and proceeded to meticulously color a smiling fish. I began to seriously wonder if I was still asleep on the subway.

We waited for the plane to be “repaired,” but when I heard the gate agent give out the toll-free reservation change number, I dialed immediately. A wise move, as I beat the loudspeaker announcement by enough time to get my choice of California flights — none of which, I quickly learned, were headed to Palm Springs. LAX it was, ultimately making the Tates’ journey both ill-timed and unnecessary.

My lucky luggage, on the other hand, was already on its way to Palm Springs; no one was certain, but chances were good that it managed to sneak aboard a flight with no empty seats, but plenty of room in the cargo hold. I asked around, but I did not have the same option.

I was nearly picked up in Los Angeles by Lisa and the Barrs, who were in the neighborhood, but lacked a sixth seatbelt. It was probably for the best — my skill at meeting people is hard to understate, even on days when my plane doesn’t almost crash. And so instead I met the longsuffering Josh at the airport and dined with him at In-N-Out; after a 2-hour drive to collect my wayward luggage (temperature: 99) and a 1-hour drive back up the mountain (temperature: 72), the day was finally, mercifully, done.


Comments

4 Comments to “Four Weeks (Part Seven)”

  1. MCB on October 6th, 2008 11:43 am

    Pfft. Next time give me something challenging.

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v350/CommodoreMikel/fishcolored.jpg

  2. Steve on October 7th, 2008 12:11 am

    I’m impressed. Your use of color is better, but she did have an advantage in shading. What’s your position on “fashion don’ts”?

  3. Rose on October 7th, 2008 4:03 pm

    Wow, I’ve never been prouder.

  4. MCB on October 16th, 2008 10:25 pm

    Generally speaking, I would say “don’t”. Seems pretty obvious.

    Also, pastels are out, much to my chagrin.

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