IT WAS FRIDAY THE 13TH! That should say it all. I try to stay home on ANY Friday the 13th. When Cyndae invited me to fly to Denver with her, I was very leery. It's Friday Cyndae .... the 13TH. It was too late because she had already made the reservations.
The plan was elusive on my part. I didn't even know why we were going to Denver at this time of year. It's full of things like RAIN AND SNOW!!
But I packed my bags and headed out at 6:30 in the morning. It was raining quite a bit to start, which brought about my fear-of-flying anxiety. I can climb a rock cliff and dive to over 100 feet deep in the ocean, but put me on a plane, and I go straight into scared mode. I've no idea why. Maybe it was when I was in a 4-seater airplane with husband's friend who didn't know how to fly well and we almost crashed upon landing.
So here we are, getting ready for her daughter, the Southwest Left Seat Captain, to drive us to the airport. It's pouring!!
We arrived at 12:30. And then it began. My TSA pre-check was not noted on my ticket, or my phone. It took 15 minutes to get that fixed before we headed off to the waiting area.
Here's the conversation:
Gosh Cyndae ... it's really crowded up here. What's going on?
Oh nothing, just lots of flights going out.
(We luckily found the only two seats in the entire departing area)
Something's up Cyndae ... they are unloading that plane.
Oh it's nothing ... as she went off to get us Starbucks.
No really Cyndae ... something is wrong. That's when I heard they deplaned two jets shortly after LOADING said jets, saying they could pick up their luggage downstairs.
I picked up my phone to see this. Yessiree ... it's FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!
Cyndae, we're grounded.
Nah, they will get it figured out. That sign says they are boarding.
Cyndae, that sign has said that for the last two hours. They are NOT boarding.
I called her Pilot daughter and asked what was up. She was not flying on this day, so she had no idea.
I'll call you back Nancy.
Come get us Becca!!
Wasn't she surprised to find on her "pilot" computer that the entire nation was on lockdown.
Two hours later, they announced they had deplaned 10 jets. The line at the ticket counter was clear to the end of the huge building. When this notice finally came in, Cyndae got in line to try and reschedule our flight to Denver. Reschedule? I would rather keep my feet on the ground!!! I saw that plane crash a couple weeks ago ... flying may be safe, but you have a better chance if you're in a car!!!
The two big groups of kids going to a sporting event (I think it was baseball) gathered their stuff and left the building. Apparently it was affecting football also. By now there wasn't even a place to stand in the aisles!!
Becca said their Air Traffic Controller communication system was completely down, as well as all radar. She said it wasn't a big deal ... OH YES IT IS ... the planes in the air could land, but the problem would be finding a place for them to go once they hit the ground. The runways were completely full of planes.
Come get us Becca!!
In the meantime, Cyndae got us rescheduled on another flight out at 6:30 in the morning. I'm now running on about 3 hours of sleep, and not sure I want to get on a plane EVER. Here are about 300 people waiting for their luggage to be taken OFF the planes. Lucky for us, we both took carryons.
We made it home, with Becca trying to reassure me, but by this time I just didn't think I could make myself get on a plane in the morning. What if it quit working again? The fear of flying came on VERY strong!
I got all of three more hours sleep before getting up. Cyndae was already at the kitchen table at 3:00 in the morning. I just can't get on that plane Cyndae ... but I would be happy to drive you to the airport this morning. "Oh that's so nice ... thank you ... but my flight got cancelled an hour ago". Of course it did because they overbooked thousands of people trying to get everyone to their destination.
By the way, I finally did find out WHY we were going to Denver. It was for a friends granddaughters one year birthday party. Cyndae had made a quilt for her.
And so I survived the Ground Stop of 2026!!!
I was ever so exhausted when I got home, so I unpacked and napped on the couch for a few minutes. Kitters was very happy to see me ... and I her.
Later in the morning, Becca got Cyndae on a flight out at 2:30, but she had to fly to San Diego for a layover before ending up in Denver at almost 9:00 pm.
Not the best Friday I've ever had, but I guess it could have been worse!!! My thought at this point is maybe if I get rid of all the stress from Elks, I might be more able to handle my fear of flying. After all, I did make two trips to Hawaii this year with no problems whatsoever!!! Maybe a nice shopping spree will help!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment