N Town - Conclusion
Why are hotel alarm clocks so much louder than the one that you have at home? It's not like I'm more comfortable sleeping in one of these rooms.
4 a.m. comes a little too quick for me. It's going to be the start of a looooooooong day.
I'm flying back across the country in time to go work a full day at my job.
I expect it to be nothing short of surreal.
My day starts off with the toilet breaking, the hair dryer not working, and the room phone being out of order.
I just want to leave.
I'm downstairs in the Logan Airport Holiday Inn waiting for the shuttle to take me to the Jet Blue terminal. The only other people boarding are either pilots or flight attendants.
I double-check to see if I have everything in my man purse that I need for the flight.
I go through security and they are making everyone take off their shoes. Somebody tries to become my "line friend" and talk to me about how they really don't look like a terrorist and how silly this all is.
I just want someone from the TSA to take this chump away for a cavity search. DON'T F'ING TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR SHOES AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING. SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.
I realize that since I'm beginning my day on the east coast and I'm going to end it on the west coast, my day didn't begin at 4:00 a.m. It really began at 1:00 a.m.
I'm so screwed.
I get to the gate where my plane is taking off. I decide to call the Commander to check in on her.
Even though their flight is two hours away, they are all at the airport.
I tell her that I love her and that I'll see her when she gets home. They have a stop in Oakland before arriving in Long Beach and I'll be able to work a full day and get home before her even though she's only leaving two hours later.
I probably don't tell her that I love her enough but the fear of being cartwheeling down the runway in a plane has a way of freeing those words from my throat.
I'm one of the first people to get on the plane and I immediately notice that it is the same flight crew that I had on the way out.
My seat is in the back of the plane and I've got a window. There's someone sitting in the aisle but nobody next to me in the middle seat.
This flight home is going to be SWEET!
And then, it's not.
Out of nowhere, I see a large girl with a lap dog heading my way. I know that dog is going to yap the whole flight home and the animal she's with will probably do the same.
I go for my headphones, turn the volume up on the ipod, and do my best to suffer from premature hearing loss.
I doze for most of the flight home. Waking up only to get my obligatory Coke and blue chips.
As we make our descent back into Long Beach, I watch Riverside county disappear into Orange County. I watch Orange County give way to Los Angeles County.
And suddenly, I realize where I am.
For a brief moment, I'm exactly 1000 feet over my dad's duplex in Long Beach.
I look out the window and watch the house go by as we come in from a landing.
It's been just over 50 hours since I left for this funeral and right now, I'm where I should be.
I'm home.
VW
4 a.m. comes a little too quick for me. It's going to be the start of a looooooooong day.
I'm flying back across the country in time to go work a full day at my job.
I expect it to be nothing short of surreal.
My day starts off with the toilet breaking, the hair dryer not working, and the room phone being out of order.
I just want to leave.
I'm downstairs in the Logan Airport Holiday Inn waiting for the shuttle to take me to the Jet Blue terminal. The only other people boarding are either pilots or flight attendants.
I double-check to see if I have everything in my man purse that I need for the flight.
I go through security and they are making everyone take off their shoes. Somebody tries to become my "line friend" and talk to me about how they really don't look like a terrorist and how silly this all is.
I just want someone from the TSA to take this chump away for a cavity search. DON'T F'ING TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR SHOES AT 5:30 IN THE MORNING. SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.
I realize that since I'm beginning my day on the east coast and I'm going to end it on the west coast, my day didn't begin at 4:00 a.m. It really began at 1:00 a.m.
I'm so screwed.
I get to the gate where my plane is taking off. I decide to call the Commander to check in on her.
Even though their flight is two hours away, they are all at the airport.
I tell her that I love her and that I'll see her when she gets home. They have a stop in Oakland before arriving in Long Beach and I'll be able to work a full day and get home before her even though she's only leaving two hours later.
I probably don't tell her that I love her enough but the fear of being cartwheeling down the runway in a plane has a way of freeing those words from my throat.
I'm one of the first people to get on the plane and I immediately notice that it is the same flight crew that I had on the way out.
My seat is in the back of the plane and I've got a window. There's someone sitting in the aisle but nobody next to me in the middle seat.
This flight home is going to be SWEET!
And then, it's not.
Out of nowhere, I see a large girl with a lap dog heading my way. I know that dog is going to yap the whole flight home and the animal she's with will probably do the same.
I go for my headphones, turn the volume up on the ipod, and do my best to suffer from premature hearing loss.
I doze for most of the flight home. Waking up only to get my obligatory Coke and blue chips.
As we make our descent back into Long Beach, I watch Riverside county disappear into Orange County. I watch Orange County give way to Los Angeles County.
And suddenly, I realize where I am.
For a brief moment, I'm exactly 1000 feet over my dad's duplex in Long Beach.
I look out the window and watch the house go by as we come in from a landing.
It's been just over 50 hours since I left for this funeral and right now, I'm where I should be.
I'm home.
VW
posted by JVW at 9:45 PM
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