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10.29.2003 - 2:49 p.m.
Wednesday
Through some astounding miracle
of fate, I had an entire row to myself on my flight to Chicago
last week. As the crush of people filing onto the plane slowed
to a trickle, I kept peeping over the seat in front of me, prairie-dog-like,
waiting for the giant bodybuilder identical twins that were sure
to whump down next to me, but no, the doors shut with seats A
and B vacant.
I was delighted. The first
thing I did was raise the arm rests so I had one smooth largish
seating area. I abandoned my assigned aisle seat and scootched
over to the window during takeoff, and later stretched my
legs along the empty seats. Bliss.
It was wonderful, better than
first class even, to have all that space to myself. Flying really
puts you in shockingly intimate physical close quarters with
total strangers, you know? Your arm brushes against theirs. Your
leg is centimeters from theirs. You can hear every rustle of
their paper, every sigh, the tiny pop in their jaw when they
yawn to clear their ears. And if you are doomed to the middle
seat and your neighbors have each decided the armrest is theirs
alone? You have to spend the entire flight vigilant, rigid, lest
you accidentally relax and slump outward, your body resting against
their own.
While I was enjoying my legroom
and listening to the airline-provided headphone music, we hit
a lengthy patch of rough turbulence. I was listening to opera
at the time, and came to the sudden (inexplicable) decision that
if I were going to die on the plane, a dramatic operatic musical
accompaniment would make it all okay. It would be just like a
movie.
The plane is clearly in
trouble. What has started out as normal turbulence has escalated
to a jouncing, vicious paroxysm. The engines have started making
a tortured mechanical scream I've never heard before. I spy a
stewardess running, stumbling up the aisle towards the cockpit,
her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes dark with terror. There
is a terrific slamming sensation, like being dropped onto a cement
floor from a great height, and the overhead compartments burst
open. Samsonite fills the air. Soft-sided, wheeled missiles whirl
through the cabin, striking the shrieking passengers, tumbling
against the ceiling and the floor. Yellow oxygen masks explode
downward in a rubbery mass. The plane hitches what feels like
a giant sigh, and everything tilts. Everything starts to fall.
I push the up arrow one
last time on my arm rest, turning the music to the maximum output.
The singer's voice is a heartbreaking pitch, she is at the crescendo
of her aria. I close my eyes as waves of music crash over me.
And -
END SCENE.
Well, obviously the plane was
fine and I'm alive and kicking, so no weepy Philadelphia-esque
death soundtrack for ME. It's a darn good thing the plane didn't
crash, because 1) shit, I'd be dead, and that would suck,
right? and 2) I was all by myself in my row and therefore had
no chance of Plane Death Fantasy Part Two which involves my seatmate,
a rumpled-yet-surprisingly-sexy businessman, tearing off his
glasses and catching my face with both hands, then delivering
the most amazing kiss of my short life as the doomed plane plummets
earthward.
:::
Q. Christ on a fucking bike,
issues with flying much?
A. Shaddap.
:::
Pictures!
Our Halloween pumpkins
that we carved last week - mine's on the right.
Aaand these are last
year's. Hmm. Hm hm hm hm. JB and I seem to be in a creative
rut, jack-o-lantern-wise.
The very very frightening
Illuminations haunted tree candleholder. Boo!
JB: "What are
you taking a picture of?"
Me: "Everything! Everything's all...glowy."
go
back :::
forward
12
comments so far.
I have moved. - 1.03.2005
Obviously, a work in progress. - 12.27.2004
Happy holidays! - 12.24.2004
Listen, I am not a complete dick, it's not like I want Joe to die alone surrounded by cats or something. - 12.23.2004
Plus I am convinced my butt is extra big when it's upside down. - 12.22.2004
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