A trip I won't forget
A trip I don't want to forget.
On Sunday we flew from Sacramento, CA to Fort Myers, FL. On the last leg (Atlanta to Fort Myers) all of us were assigned to middle seats, which means we were all separated--and no one is going to want to swap an isle or window seat for a middle seat... Somehow, despite the odds, Eric managed to get someone to switch so he could be next to Amy. Eventually, two saintly ladies offered to switch with me so I could sit next to Michael, but due to complicated logistics, the Stewardess asked us to make the switch after the plane took off. So, I went to the back of the plane and the stewardess accompanied Michael up to the front of the plane. So began the most memorable flight of my life:
First: I sat next to some fellow who was, to put it as politely as possible, disturbed. We had quite a tangential conversation in which he disclosed he was a parachuter with 500 jumps, his brother was confined to a mental hospital in Israel for schizophrenia, he is terrified of flying in airplanes, he was off to start a new business in For Myers after not passing an "exam" in Atlanta, and he was a trump supporter because "Trump supports Israel."
Second: Unfortunately, we had extreme turbulence throughout the flight (extreme to the point I got very motion sick). He was visibly upset and scared. At one point he took out some sort of Jewish phylactery which he bound and unbound on his arm and head mumbling the entire time. At one point he talked about going up to the pilot and "kicking his ----" because he didn't know how to fly the plane. I used all the calming techniques I could muster and managed to keep him sitting in one spot. Third: Because of the turbulence, I was never reunited with my son (and just as well, I probably needed to sit next to this dude and keep him from heading up to the cockpit).
Fourth: To my relief, we the turbulence brought a tailwind and we made it to the airport in record time. I was breathing a sigh of relief that the flight was coming to an end when the pilot announced that we were not going to land but instead circle around the airport. Vice President Pence was taking off in Air Force 2. So, we circled for 30 minutes and I got to hang out with this crazy man for 30 more minutes.... You know it's bad when after deplaning a fellow passenger came up to me and said, "What was that guy doing, I was freaked out just watching him...." After we landed, I was reunited with my son who had sat between two sweet old ladies that doted on him the entire time. He informs us he is ready to sit on his own again...
Sixth: Unfortunately, our luggage was juggled out of the plane due to turbulence. Well, actually, it just didn't make it on the airplane and Delta had to drive it to our house 4 hours later.
On Sunday we flew from Sacramento, CA to Fort Myers, FL. On the last leg (Atlanta to Fort Myers) all of us were assigned to middle seats, which means we were all separated--and no one is going to want to swap an isle or window seat for a middle seat... Somehow, despite the odds, Eric managed to get someone to switch so he could be next to Amy. Eventually, two saintly ladies offered to switch with me so I could sit next to Michael, but due to complicated logistics, the Stewardess asked us to make the switch after the plane took off. So, I went to the back of the plane and the stewardess accompanied Michael up to the front of the plane. So began the most memorable flight of my life:
First: I sat next to some fellow who was, to put it as politely as possible, disturbed. We had quite a tangential conversation in which he disclosed he was a parachuter with 500 jumps, his brother was confined to a mental hospital in Israel for schizophrenia, he is terrified of flying in airplanes, he was off to start a new business in For Myers after not passing an "exam" in Atlanta, and he was a trump supporter because "Trump supports Israel."
Second: Unfortunately, we had extreme turbulence throughout the flight (extreme to the point I got very motion sick). He was visibly upset and scared. At one point he took out some sort of Jewish phylactery which he bound and unbound on his arm and head mumbling the entire time. At one point he talked about going up to the pilot and "kicking his ----" because he didn't know how to fly the plane. I used all the calming techniques I could muster and managed to keep him sitting in one spot. Third: Because of the turbulence, I was never reunited with my son (and just as well, I probably needed to sit next to this dude and keep him from heading up to the cockpit).
Fourth: To my relief, we the turbulence brought a tailwind and we made it to the airport in record time. I was breathing a sigh of relief that the flight was coming to an end when the pilot announced that we were not going to land but instead circle around the airport. Vice President Pence was taking off in Air Force 2. So, we circled for 30 minutes and I got to hang out with this crazy man for 30 more minutes.... You know it's bad when after deplaning a fellow passenger came up to me and said, "What was that guy doing, I was freaked out just watching him...." After we landed, I was reunited with my son who had sat between two sweet old ladies that doted on him the entire time. He informs us he is ready to sit on his own again...
Sixth: Unfortunately, our luggage was juggled out of the plane due to turbulence. Well, actually, it just didn't make it on the airplane and Delta had to drive it to our house 4 hours later.
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