I'm just going to dive right in - this is what I wrote in a journal that my friend Lorinda gave me. These first bits are choppy and they lengthen out into story-like paragraphs later : )
>> On arrival to the airport Aric mooned mom and I in the crosswalk - the very open crosswalk.
>>My flight was canceled so they put me on another that was supposed to leave a half hour earlier. It got delayed three times.
>>When one sits at an airport it is awkward to sit across from someone - because you face one another. It didn't help that I chose a creeeeeepy person to sit across from. It would have been better / less awkward sitting on someone's lap than it is to sit directly across from them. The only thing that could have bettered this situation was to have three delays resulting in two and a half hours of bonding time with this stranger... because if you get up and change seats, what is your excuse? The view was bad... You creep me out... You know you're going to have spend at least another hour and half with them on a cramped plane. And with this lucky streak going (plane canceled then delayed) we would be sitting right next to one another...
>>I noticed / realized that I find it amazing when kids speak a different language. There were three that did so loudly and constantly at my gate. They were just in their own little worlds. {Actually I think they were replicas of Haley Brillhart's babysitting kids. Two boys and girl - with the younger two looking the same age. And the little girl with the same haircut!} At one point the younger boy was practically hanging over my lap and screaming in my face at his "Mama" and using words that sounded a lot like American cussing f*@k. I doubt the translation was what it sounded like. But, they seemed so intelligent, wise - just interesting and funny little people : )
>>Important note: it is a bad idea for anyone over the age of five to go barefoot in an airport. Especially a grown man - you know that can't smell good...
>> We finally got boarded with a lot of "important" (rude) business men and a lot of anxious kids - both / all of them cranky.
>>We boarded and got de-iced then took off. It was cloudy with light snow in Iowa and based on our delays I'm assuming it was not much better in Chicago. However, the tip in between was alright. We are flying above the clouds where the sky is blue : )
>> I got my seat bumped up from 17D to 5D because with these delays it's about a 50/50 shot that I'll make my next flight. It will be a time of no mercy while getting to my next gate - if an elderly woman gets in my way, she's going down...{As is turns out the flight from Des Moines landed at a gate that was two down from my next gate. I did not know this at the time. I started walking through this city-sized airport. Lines and people coming and going from everywhere. I walk aimlessly for a while then try and read the board that lists the flights. There were approximately 500,000 flights listed that change every millisecond... So, taking dad's advice I walk up to the nearest counter (credit card in hand) and hand the semi-man my boarding pass - I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be, I tell him. He tosses the my ticket back to me and says "yep, you're in the right place". Holy cow! God had a hand in this - no doubt about it!
I spent a total of eight minutes in Chicago that day...
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