I am starting this story as I board the flight from Detroit to Seattle on Monday. I was in 4D in First Class. The first three seats are well-treated, but the second set of two seats gets an also-ran feeling. If you are looking for the whole luxury experience on a regular USA domestic flight, you want seat 2A. So I got a drink after a while, and I waited to almost the last to get my dinner. Dinner was a chicken item that I had ordered online. The stewardess brought me a glass of red to go with it; I asked her to pick the wine for me. I could barely hear as my good ear was pointed at the window. The food could have used some salt, but it still was good and quite hot–I did not add salt as I can enjoy my food with less salt (and should with high blood pressure). I would order it in a restaurant–highest praise for airplane food.
I use my noise-canceling headphones, as this 737 is loud for me. It was a new 737 with all the cool blue lighting, and the miniature bathroom was usable. The crew closed the First Class bathroom while preparing items for the rest of the plane, so I had to walk to the far bathroom at the back of the aircraft. It was an exciting feeling to see how long this 737 was. The blue lighting was restful, but you could see everything. I tried not to bump people, but it was nearly impossible to miss everyone.
I took off the sweater and just had the T-shirt. I could see the snob rise in a few other First Class passengers when they saw me in a Nike T-shirt. We were never over AC’d, so the sweater stayed in my travel bag. By the way, the red Nike travel bag was heavier. I picked up a Lions shirt for Susie in Detroit. Books and various items that should have been packed in the luggage had been added. Susie was not with me and thus did not remind me to carry only what I needed in the travel bag.
The gentleman next to me on the Seattle-bound flight, again my hearing did not help me understand him, sold Financial software and was headed to Seattle for a demo or a sales pitch. He just had the dessert for dinner. I had two cups of coffee as I did not want to sleep on the four-hour flight as I had to get to a Portland flight in 45 minutes once we landed. He lived in New York and was in Seattle for a few days.
I tried to watch the new John Wick movie; I put in the supplied earphones and then put my noise-canceling headphones over them. This worked well enough for me to understand the movie, but then the stewardess had to reboot the screens–I try not to think about that–starting the movie over, and I just read my book on my Kindle instead.
I read and listened to music; I have the 100 Best Classical Pieces on my iPhone, and I just have it shuffle–somehow, it always picks rousing pieces for boarding and take-offs. I watched some Guy Fieri food shows near the end of the flight to have something to do after I packed everything.
The plane arrived twenty minutes early, but this bounty was lost as we waited most of the earned time to get a gate agent to connect the walkway. I had forty minutes until boarding time for my flight to Portland, and I needed the restroom. I had to walk to the train and then walk to the very end of yet-another-never-ending ‘A’ Termimal. Dante would have found materials here, too. I was breathing hard when I saw the gate, A14, and the nearby rest area. Of course, this plane was delayed. I then waited thirty minutes. And the gate does not have a sound system. So the gate agent yells over the noise to give us instructions–Less Delta but more Wright Bros., I think. On Boarding, expecting a barn, but I was surprised it was a large new Airbus jet, not something manual, and I got another First Class seat for a 25-minute flight.
On disembarking, I hit my head, for the second time, on an open overhead bin. I am not that tall. The walk is a bit long, but it is the last one. The PDX carpet welcomes me home. I retrieve my luggage and then nearly fall down the escalator with all my stuff–next time, the elevator! Again, if I was with Susie, I would not have risked the escalator!
I can’t find Air Volvo. I took a picture of the car in Long Term Parking with the sign showing 3E. There is no 3E on the third floor. I try to remember what happened on Thursday, get back on the elevator, try the second floor, and walk to the upbound parking, and there is 3E. Yes, 3E is on the second floor. Yes, Dante would have loved this stuff.
The window on the driver’s side was down the whole time–I have done this before. But it was inside and parked with thousands of vehicles, so nobody noticed. Something to check next time.
My first attempt to pay failed as the machine did not take my AMEX. I used American Express as my parking pass instead of trying to not lose a paper ticket. The next machine works, and after $120, I am free. It took me a few moments to switch to driving the smaller Air Volvo as SS Ford, the colossal SUV I rented in Michigan, was a different driving experience; more piloting than driving. I took the wrong exit and had to circle back once, but after that, everything was easy.
I had to slow down as I was driving 70+ in a 50, which would have been a 75 in Michigan. Time to slow down and get on my passive-aggressive driving back. I am passed by a motorcycle going over 100, but like most Oregonians, I ignore anyone going fast.
I arrive without incident, trying to not go 45+ in 35. I unload the luggage, open it up, and get the necessaries out. I shower as it was, including the time difference, twenty-three hours on the move. Cleaned up and refreshed, I finally slept at 2AM in the bunks in the Volvo Cave.
I wake at 6AM (again!) and cough, and allergies are bad, OR I have Covid-19. I am scared, so I crawl out of bed and take a test. Negative. I managed some fitful sleep after that.
Thanks for reading this mini-blog.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 