The flight is home

The time was 4:45pm on a Friday and the man was relaxing in a taxing feeling relieved of his efforts of the week. He though about the flawless execution of his recent delivery on the subject he teaches different companies around the country. The client was happy and finally knew the direction of execution they needed… something that had been lost through venders, teams, and confusion of the product. The man was content, relaxing in his taxi with all of his belongings headed to his home, the airport.

As the clock struck 5 o’clock the taxi arrived at the airport and the man thanked his taxi driver for the comfortable ride, he grabbed his lugged, and breathed in a sigh of relief while closing the taxi door.  He then started to focus on the task at hand, 

'I wonder if this airport has a lounge I can relax in peace and quiet in. Oh I’m gonna be real sad if they don’t have precheck, oh well, I’ll get through. I wonder if they have good seafood here. Oh I should text Rob and see if he’s around this weekend to catch up. Mom. Call mom. I can do that when I get into the lounge.'

The man dove deep into his thoughts while walking, 

'alright where is security? There, there it is. Oh! I should email my manager about that issue and maybe suggest the solution I have been thinking about. And I need to look into that cruise information. How cool would it be to travel for vacation? precheck. ‘why don’t you slide….’ Gosh this is a great song, I should really add it to my favorites. Crap, I’m next, better get my mobile app out with my pass. No I’m not a terrorist, hurry up I’m hungry.'

As the man entered the terminal, the man found a nice restaurant with some lighter food and a good whiskey selection. Best part about the restaurant was that it had wifi, SCORE! While enjoying his whiskey, the man was able to check his emails, follow up with colleagues, and start to answer some of the questions that the client had. His mind began to rush with thoughts, 

'I really should look into that idea, I bet thats a pain point for a lot of clients and just a good thing to read about. I should send out a pic and show everyone me enjoying my life at the airport!'

As the man receives his check for his meal, he realizes how much cheaper the bill is than what he was expecting. 

'I cannot believe this is my bill. I suppose I didn’t get the Glenlevich 12 yr this time, so it makes sense. I have plenty left so I can probably tip them at least 30%.. oh thats not enough, lets do 35%. Now, where is that club, I have relaxing to do.'

Terminal Announcement: “Flight 2033 out of Gat B4 is delayed 35 minutes due to weather conditions"

'Sweet, more relaxing time in the club. Maybe I’ll meet a cool world traveler.'  

BEEP! 

'I still don’t understand why I can’t just give them my member number to enter in the club. Awesome! they have some different snacks rather than the normal ones. Remember before snacks, lets grab and apple or two, then we’ll dig into the snacks. Alright, where’s the bar, there should be plenty of seating there and a few travelers to talk to.'

As the man orders a complimentary drink and opens his laptop to the free wifi, the bartender smiles and asks where he’s headed. Of course the man tells her how he’s headed to the city he lives in, but will be back on a plane on Monday, headed to a new destination. She then asks him, “What are you going to do when you’re home??” The man then begins to ponder the question, 

'Crap, now I have to come up with some answer that makes me sound interesting. Maybe I’ll say I’m going to hang out with friends. Or better yet, lets say I have a lot of work to catch up with. Oh man, what do people normally do on the weekends? Visit friends? Family? Drink? Go and explore? I do all that during the week and I'm so tired... I just want to sleep and be lazy this weekend. Maybe I’ll just say that this time, but I need to phrase it in a way that it doesn’t seem like I’m lonely where I live and am just waiting to get back in the air again….'

The man’s flight was about to board so the man paid his compliments to his bartender, said goodbye to his platonic friends he just made, and was on his way. Next up, to find his gate. 

'Alright, where’s those signs, ah B4 to the right. 4 minutes until boarding, no problem. Yep, there’s the lines for my flight… boarding group 2. I suppose I should smile at the people in the other boarding group. That guy and his wife look particularly stressed right now. I wish I could express how relaxing flying could be but they probably wouldn't believe me. Oh well, better get out my mobile boarding pass.'

As the man boards his plane, he looks around and smiles. He is continually amazed about flying and the complex process made easy to world travelers. To fly above the world and look down and to see civilization's amazing marvels and experience the awe that is collaborative expression in the world has always been a passion of the man and now he was living it regularly. 

'I wonder where that couple is going. They seemed like they were headed out to vacation but seemed stressed.. hang in there buddy, you’ll get there, just a bit further……. Ahhhh A window seat, a relaxing area of zen.'

The flight attendant comes on over the intercom, “Welcome aboard flight 2033, flight to…”

'Time for earphones. ♫'My baby don’t mess around because she loves me so and this i know for sure. But does she really wanna or can’t stand to see me walk out the door…. Cant stand to fight the feeling cuz the thought alone is killing me right now, thank God for mom and dad for sticking together because we don’t know howww ….. heeeey ahhhh, hey ahhh, hey ahhh, hey ahhhh…'♫'

'Why are the lights still on, I just want the cabin to be dark….moving toward the runway, thank God, relaxation here I come. There’s the acceleration, I absolutely love the g-forces, it’s so relaxing, I’ll be out in no ti- …. zzzzzz'

Home.

I came, I saw, I travel

The Flight

The time was 4:45pm on a Friday and his fingers were frantically trying to finish up an email for his replacement on the project he had been working on for the last 6 months. This project was his all he focused on the last 6 months and finally he could see his release in sight, vacation. He just needed to finish this email with the final details of what needed to be accomplished in his absence. 

As the clock struck 5 o'clock, the email was finished and his vacation notification was set, “I am currently out of the office this week, for any immediate issues, contact my replacement below”. He then shut his computer down, grabbed his keys, and headed to his car. As he stepped out to the parking lot, a long list of things to do flooded his mind, 

'pick up kids from daycare, call mom to make sure she’s made it to our place to watch the kids, call wife, stop to get snacks and a new carry on, don’t forget the clean underwear in the dryer!, print off itinerary, and breath, the flight will be okay, everything will be fine'. 

A few hours went by and the kids were finally fed and everything was packed into the car. He hopped into the car and looked over at his wife and smiled thinking they were so close to relief; beaches, sun, relaxation, good food, a suite to themselves, and most importantly no mention of work! As he drove to the airport anxiety started to set in. 

‘Did I leave money for mom to feed the kids? Did I remember to tie up all the loose ends at work? Do I have my ticket? Are we going to get to the airport in time? Hopefully my suitcase isn’t too heavy. Will we make our layover? I really hope I don’t get sick with the turbulence. I really really don’t want to be cramped into that sardine can for 4 hours. Breath.'

He parked the car and they wheeled their suitcases to their terminal. His anxiety continued to build,

‘Oh great a line to check my bag, I knew I shouldn’t have pack those extra sandals. Do I have my ticket? Did I forget my swimsuit, oh no I remembered that. breath.'

Once his bag was checked, over to security and his thoughts continued to flow, 

‘Another line? You’ve got to be kidding me. We can do it. Do I have my ticket? Oh crap is my ID in my wallet? I’m not a terrorist. I’m not a terrorist. If I’m frisked I have nothing to hid because I’m not a terrorist. My belt? You want me to take off my belt!? Wait, you have to pat me down because there’s something wet on my back? It’s sweat! I have been in lines for the last hour and I’m sweaty and tired! I just want to get to my vacation, but I’ll smile and allow it because I’m not a terrorist.'

He put his belt back on and looked back at his wife, who looked miserable, so he smiled and re-assured her that they are on vacation and it will be good to be away from everything for a week. 

‘We can still make it. Just hurry down the terminal, wait, which way? Where’s my ticket, it says on there. B4? B4. B4…. where the heck is that. Ah, B1-B15 to the right! What boarding group did they announce? Wait, what boarding group are we? Never thought I’d be so relieved to see a line at my gate, we made it. Time to get into that sardine can. So close.'

He and his wife board the plane with the stress starting to come off… but only to build back up once he enters the tiny vessel that will be traveling 500+ mph, 6,000 feet above the ground, and almost no movement room for 4 hours. 

‘What’s that smell? Did you really have to reapply the perfume right before you got onto the plane? Why does first class already have drinks? I’m not even to my seat yet. Where’s my ticket? What’s my seat? 31D, a middle seat. That guy overflows into my seat! How am I supposed to fit!? Crap, I checked my headphones… and my book.'

The flight attendant comes on over the intercom, “Welcome aboard flight 2033, flight to… please take a moment to look at the card in the pouch describing this aircraft…. in case of a emergency…. in case of a water landing…And thank you for choosing us for your flight”

‘Wait, what did they say about a water landing? We shouldn’t be flying over water. Are we really in danger of crashing? Maybe I should tell my wife I love her. oh shit the plane is moving. Breath. Quit biting your nails, it’s fine, everything will be fine. Wow, that’s a lot of acceleration. The engines are really loud.. please please don’t fail, I just want to get to my vacation. There goes the front wheels. Breath. Okay, here we go.'

Stress free vacation, here he comes...

I came, I saw, I travel.