Delays, Diamonds & Dinner

Follow along as I lay the foundation for a recent encounter . . . .

You just never know what will happen when your little crusty peepers open in the morning. Something could happen today changing the course of your life. Speaking of courses . . . A sailor likes a consistent steady wind to reach their destination in a reasonable amount of time. I set my destination, chart my course, hoist my sails and launch my boat. Simple. But in the middle my perfect reach across the water, I notice the strips of cassette tape tied to my side stays moving indicating a shift in wind direction. I still have to get to my destination. So, I reroute my course. Use your imagination to draw all the life parallels from this story. I continue on . . . .

I spent Thanksgiving in my hometown of Clintwood, VA with my family. On my way there I took 2 planes - Appleton to Atlanta then Atlanta to Bristol. I left Appleton, WI at 6:30a.m. and arrived in Bristol, TN at 11:30p.m. Simple. Just like the trip there, my flight back to Appleton had me on the same two planes - only in reverse. Bristol to Atlanta then Atlanta to Appleton. Well, the time to go home arrived. The parents dropped me off at the airport with hugs and kisses. Destination set to Appleton, Wisconsin. My flights home, as I mentioned earlier was TRI to ATL to ATW. Course Charted. I buckled up in this small CJ100 and . . . . the flight is delayed. And delayed. And delayed. When we got to Atlanta my flight and the last flight to Appleton was gone. There were no more flights to Appleton that evening.

Can you see the cassette tapes shifting?

So, I visited the local ticket counter and received apologies from the agent who handed me a voucher for a hotel and $24 for food. So, should I just go to my hotel room and pine away?? OH NO! Let's do this evening Shelli Hawkins style! It was after all dinner time and the Atlanta Airport has a great restaurant on concourse E - One Flew South.

 I felt myself being sucked into Concourse E like a Dyson sucks dirt! So, I bee bopped my little delayed, hungry, mildly aggravated self over to One Flew South and sat down for some dinner. The meal was a perfect prescription for my temporary shift in course. Sylvia is my favorite waitress at OFS. When she sees me coming she knows what I like to drink and always surprises me with something new the chef is cooking up. Below are just a few of their dishes.

With my belly full and my mind a little more at ease, I guessed it was time to journey to this hotel called the Clarion. Back on the tram. Walk across the street. Wait for the Clarion Hotel bus to arrive . . . . and wait . . and wait . . . 40 minutes of waiting. The Clarion Hotel crowd was growing and getting a little grumpy. FINALLY the little short bus arrives. We pack in this thing like sardines in a can. Everyone on board is tired, frustrated by delays and ready for bed. After all passengers are on board our driver stands in the front and declares in an enthusiastic, energetic voice, "Hello everyone!! Welcome to the Clarion Hotel! The GREATEST hotel on EARF!" He then puts his right hand on his chest and announces, "My name is Rashad but, the ladies call me BIG SEXY!" The bus erupted in laughter. We loved it! I was sure he said that on a regular basis but, I didn't care. Big Sexy was hilarious and another prescription for laughter to help ease his weary crowd. The hotel was nice. Clean. I don't remember much because once I settled myself in the room, I was checking my eyelids for leaks.

Delta changed my course. In the morning I would leave Atlanta, fly to Detroit and end in Appleton.  The light is at the end of the tunnel. Destination in sight!

5a.m. came early. I drug my body to the little short shuttle bus parked in the front of the hotel at 6 a.m. I went through security with no problems. Flight to Detroit left at 9 a.m. I was sitting on the left side of the plane in the middle of 3 seats on a 747. The lady to the left of me was young. 20 maybe. When she saw me, she pulled both strings of the hood in her sweatshirt tight to close off the world. She then laid her head against the chair and fell asleep before we took off. The lady to the right of me looked to be in her mid 70s and she was classically beautiful. My Aunt Chris is a vivacious 74 and this lady now seated next to me bore strong similarities. Her hair was grey but cut in a trendy style. Makeup was minimal and highlighted all the right spots. Her nose was buried in a book. Taking a deep breath I thought, "Well, I guess there will be no conversations on this flight." So I settled into my magazine. About 20 minutes into the flight, I was regretting drinking the ultra large black coffee with my breakfast. Lightly tapping the lady to my right, I smiled and asked if she could get up and let me out to visit the bathroom. I could hear her huff of disgust. Hmph! Like a school girl crossing her arms and stomping her foot, she did not want to get up out of her chair. I felt terrible for inconveniencing her.

After returning to my seat and settling back in for the remainder of my flight, I open my magazine to the dog eared page revealing an article on the wonders of Morocco. A few minutes later the classy lady to my right peeked out of her novel and asked, "Is Detroit your final destination?" The shrill of her New York accent pierced the air. "No, I live in Appleton, WI and hopefully will arrive there this evening." I replied. She wore black tailored slacks, a beige silky shell and a thin wool black sweater with a beautiful red necklace. Her mouth started moving like an army tank that would not be stopped. I said to her, "By your accent, I'm guessing your are not originally from Detroit." She smiled and said she was from New York. Her and her husband were retired and lived in Detroit. He was a physician and she a school teacher. Palm Beach, Florida was their winter home and she was returning from Thanksgiving there with her family. They had two sons. Both were doctors. One lived in Japan and the other in Florida. Then she started talking about her grand children. I smiled and listened. Thinking of all the amazing life experiences contained in the woman sitting next to me. She would ask me quick yes or no questions and then go right back into what ever she was talking about. She made me smile.

I told her this trip to Virginia was supposed to be a surprise . . . "I REMEMBER SURPRISING MY PARENTS ONE YEAR FOR THANKSGIVING!" She completely interrupted me in the most charming way that one could not be offended. She went on to tell about one year while in college, she and her identical twin sister flew home to New York surprising her parents for Thanksgiving. After knocking on their front door her father answered. He saw his beautiful young girls in front of him and said, "WHAT'S WRONG?? WHAT HAPPENED? WHY ARE YOU HERE?" HAHA! After hugging him and telling him it was a surprise they saw their mother in the kitchen. Can you guess what she said? "WHAT'S WRONG??" HAHA! Love it! Of course they had an enjoyable vacation with their family.

As she talked her hands waved wildy around with gestures. At one point I almost went blind when the sun perfectly reflected off the diamond solitaire on her left ring finger and into my eye. I could tell her stories were beginning to wind down so I mentioned, "Your diamond is beautiful!!" Like all women, she was embarrassed because she thought it needed to be cleaned. This diamond was so beautiful. I admired it throughout our whole conversation. She told me her husband paid $2500 for it when they were engaged in 1956. Priceless. What a wonderful lady. I loved the passion in her voice. I loved her stories. Nothing meant more to her than her family. I loved my plane ride from Atlanta to Detroit.

I got off that plane in the Detroit airport and realized my 12:30 flight to Appleton was canceled.

Cassette tapes continues to shift.

Delta put me on the 5:30 p.m. flight and I arrived home in Appleton around 7 p.m. When I got home that night I sliced my thumb to the bone in 2 places and went to the E.R. but, I will save that story for another post.

Never take for granted the amazingness that will fill your day when you wake up in the morning.