Tuesday,
October 29, 2002
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airlines don't really seem cuddly to me
"Holidays are an expensive
trail of strength. The only satisfaction comes from survival."
It is not enough to be happy; it is necessary, in addition, that others not be. |
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flying I'm up pretty early and making my final, final preparations. I know I have too much stuff. I'm just afraid it isn't the right stuff. I always say if you have your ticket, your passport and money you will be all right. But really you want to have just the right stuff. FFP takes me to the airport way early so that he can make an appointment. I get checked in quickly and buy a magazine and a bottle of water. I have a power bar from my food kit. I sit in front of one of the TVs blaring headline news. I don't actually mind airports. I hate the actual airplane ride, the uneven pressure, the noise, the crowding and the tiny bathrooms. And the way my hips cramp up from the sitting and there is no way to make it stop. I see some people I know. I tell them that I'm retired and that I'm just going to Berlin for the heck of it. I watch people go by. Someone calls me by name and says they are happy to see me. I nod. I have no idea who this person is. Maybe I should have tried to get a disability leave instead of retiring? Going off on this trip without regard for how many vacation days I'm using or having to return to work and piles of work to do makes me feel relaxed and free. But I hate leaving Forrest. I've been enjoying spending more time around the house while he is working and such. I hope we can do some traveling together soon.
I've upgraded to first class for the first leg of my trip. I have a Bloody Mary before we take off. I'm taking decongestants for my ears. I'm hoping the combination of alcohol and the pills makes me sleep through the torture of the overseas flight. The drink is free in first class and free is good. They serve a salmon thing for lunch and I have some wine with it. The pressure is weird in the plane and my ears hurt a little in spite of the decongestants. Some people in front of me, apparently strangers who have just met, are having a conversation about Italy and then about family.
Hmmm...no, I don't think so. My guess is that he is looking for the next wife now. There is a little package of cheese and one of crackers and one of cookies on my tray. I save them for an emergency in the overseas flight when I'll be in coach. I believe if you are prepared then very little happens to you. You get enough food and water if you've brought your own. (Actually if you don't bring your own water you never get enough on an overseas flight.) Things are on time if you are prepared for them to not be. Yeah, but you never get enough water. Even when you bring your own. You shouldn't drink alcohol and fly because it is so hard to stay hydrated anyway. Should shun coffee, too. I drink all the water I can get them to give me and take my own bottles on board and drink some in airports where I change. Because I like to have a little alcohol and coffee and the hydration scales are stacked against me. So, we arrive in Chicago early. I buy a bottle of water. I drink it and have a snack from my supplies. (Yes, I just ate. I'm hungry for some reason.) And, we are in the air. I'm so lucky. I have an aisle seat AND there is no one in the three seats between me and another guy who has an aisle seat. Except. The other guy takes two of the seats to sleep. Which is OK. Except. The flight attendant moves some guy next to me who can't stand the crying baby where he is. Later he leaves but I don't know if he is coming back and this upsets my comfort and sleep. He doesn't come back. I work crosswords and read pieces of newspaper I've brought along from my pile. Mostly the Arts and Food sections. I leave the ones I've read behind so that I'm shedding junk. One is always shedding, always accumulating. The trouble with books is that when I've read them I always want to take them back home. I watch a bad movie. It has Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins in it. Bad Company. It is kind of irresistible in that bad movie kind of way. It passes the time. I am not sleeping well.
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177
JUST
TYPING