Skip to main content

Making the Connection

I did not know how fast I was walking and I did not care. All I knew was that I had a connection to make . . . and I was not going to miss it. I arrived at the gate just in time to see the boarding door closing. What was I going to do? This was the last flight of the day. It had been a long day and I really wanted to get back home. Now I was not sure I would.

My day had begun around 8a.m. when I arrived at the Phoenix airport for my 10a.m. flight to Atlanta. Because of a great fare, I had purchased a ticket that included a connection in Detroit. It had been very much out of my way, but the fare was better than anything else I could find. My return flight had a two hour layover in Detroit, plenty of time (I thought) to make my connection. I did not anticipate a three hour delay in the Phoenix airport because of a malfunctioning airplane. By the time everyone was on the plane, it was after 1p.m.

When the plane landed, I briskly walked down the jet way and into the terminal, glancing at my watch along the way. I knew I as running late. I just did not know how late. It was 7:45p.m. My flight to Atlanta was scheduled to leave in less than five minutes. My gate, of course, was at the other end of the terminal. Immediately, I picked up my pace, until I was nearly running down the pathway. I arrived at the gate nearly breathless, just as the jet way door was slamming shut. Two other people, both of whom I recognized from the first leg of my flight, were already standing there. The desk agent approached, glanced at the three of us and asked, “Are you on this flight?” The three of us just nodded affirmatively as the desk agent contacted the flight crew. After a few minutes, the agent reopened the jet way door and allowed us to board.

As soon as I stepped onto the plane, I saw that all of the other passengers were seated, ready to depart. The flight had been held up for me and the other two passengers. Somewhat embarrassed, I avoided making eye contact with other passengers, instead walking briskly down the aisle to my seat. I slipped into the row, pushed my carry-on items under the seat and sat down, finally ready to leave . . . and ready to be home.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Catch A Cab

We had been walking for about forty-five minutes, making our way from Manhattan’s South Street Seaport to the Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. When we were within fifteen blocks of our destination, some of my companions decided that we should complete our journey by cab. Despite my attempts to convince them to keep walking, they were insistent. The trip that ensued was a true New York experience. After a few minutes of trying, one of my companions was able to hail a cab. However, we wanted to go north. The cab that stopped was going south. It did not seem to matter, though, as my companions still got in the cab. One person sat in the front while I slipped into the backseat, between the other two. Hardly before the doors could close, the driver had fought his way into Manhattan traffic. Without warning, he took a sharp right turn onto a side street and began to head north, steadily increasing his speed. Within seconds, the cab was weaving a...
1 comment
Read more

Looking At My Luggage

More than twenty four hours had passed since I had arrived in Washington, D.C. My luggage was still nowhere to be found. Despite the promises of the airline’s agents, my missing suitcase had not yet been delivered. With no other alternative, I had spent the day touring Washington in the clothes that I had worn a day earlier. Clothes that I was still wearing. A full day had passed. My friend and I had returned to her house from dinner to find that my belongings remained missing. I promptly began calling the airline, trying to track down my baggage. The agent assured me that my luggage had been located and dropped off at my friend’s home by a delivery service the previous evening. I assured her that it had not been delivered. After more than fifteen minutes of her continued assurances, I was transferred to the delivery service. As with the airline, the delivery service assured me that my luggage had been dropped off, going so far as to give me a specific time at which i...
1 comment
Read more

Universal Round Trip

In hindsight, we should have known something was not right. On our way home from an annual vacation in southwest Florida, we stopped in Orlando. Our plan was to spend a day at the area’s newest theme park, Universal Studios. The park had only been open a few weeks when we arrived. My family and I were excited to be among its first visitors. My parents, siblings, and I arrived just as the park was opening. We purchased our tickets and stood in line, waiting to enter the park. As we made our way through the gates, a park employee handed each of us something that looked like an index card. Excited to get to the rides, we only glanced at the cards, not really taking in what we were holding. It was not until we were in line for the first ride that anyone in my family really examined the cards we all held in our hands. A bright shade of blue, the front of each card was marked with the Universal Studios logo. On the reverse, alongside several lines of fine p...
1 comment
Read more