Flying Not So Hiigh

The alarm clock went off at 5:00 a.m., and Jean jumped out of bed glad to face this day, because she was boarding the airplane at 8:00 a.m. to fly to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Her third time there but this time she was going to a writing retreat, to concentrate on herself and her writing. Jean had won the free trip when she entered a writing contest and she had won. She won with a short, simple story about a bowl of fruit in a room! Can you imagine? It had only taken Jean a day to write, but she took the bowl of fruit in a room, to total chaos of a whole town! The writing prompts were silly and that was the only one that caught Jean's eye. But, never the less she had won the trip to the resort; a thousand dollars, airplane tickets, and just the time to relax and concentrate on her writing, plus, be shown how to improve her skills for better writing and learning to relax. Jean's joy was over the top! Especially, her destination, Myrtle Beach, her very favorite place. But, anything would have been grand compared to what she had been through the last six years.

Jean's boyfriend had been diagnosed with throat cancer, so she was the main caregiver, yes, she had a helper, and really did appreciate him. But, when he wasn't around, Bob was cruel to Jean, just saying and doing terrible things. Give me this; give me that; that's not right; I can't eat that it's too crunchy, etc. So when Jean received the letter and email, about winning the contest, she just cried! Because, now she could take care of herself, Bob had passed . The letter had the plane ticket, her information about accommodations, a schedule of workshops she could attend, and extra writing prompts if she would like to use them. So off she went!

Jean had arrived at the airplane terminal and as the taxi driver loaded her luggage onto a cart, she felt like she was in a dream. She felt fantastic, even with the rain starting to come down, nothing could change her good mood. Jean rolled her cart onto the moving sidewalk, she was in no hurry and she enjoyed watching people. She arrived at the desk to check her ticket in to board the plane, she was still smiling after standing for 45 minutes, she was still smiling. Some people knew that it was going to take time, the others were just rude and saying hateful things,(like it was the receptionist' fault) Little did anyone know, it was about to get worse. Everyone was all checked in and waiting to board the plane, but time was ticking by slowly.

Jean had taken out her notebook and began to write about peoples reactions, she found their reactions remarkable-the ones who "should" be upset and crabby were not, and the ones who had no reason or less of a reason were doing the most complaining. The profanity and degrading comments to the airline and the people working there, Jean was amazed! She was just happy to be able to write and think of Myrtle Beach. Suddenly, a voice came over the intercom, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we have been updated about our departure. Sorry, to say due to the rapid drop in temperature, ice is accumulating on the wigs and engines, all departures have been grounded for now. Your patience is appreciated, and please try to be courteous to one another. There is food and beverages available in the Flying High Bar and Grill. Thank you, and we will keep you updated." A few people were irritated and angry but the rest of us started moving towards the bar. Jean decided a beer and appetizer would hit the spot, so she took her carry-on with her notebooks and went to the bar. It was extremely dark in there, but as she looked around she found a small table with light and a candle, which was good because candles always made Jean feel warm and comfortable and a little romantic.

As Jean was ordering her beer and her sample basket of appetizers, she noticed the airplane crew started filing in, which made her a little uneasy. Jean said to herself, ( If the pilot orders a drink, she is requesting a different airplane), which made her laugh to herself, but the pilot ordered coffee and a cheeseburger, along with the rest of the crew, which eased Jean's mind. Then, once again the voice came over the intercom, Hello everyone, I hope you all have gotten something to eat and drink and are trying to relax. We are still grounded because the rain has now turned into sleet along with some snow. The airline apologizes and would like to buy everyone an appetizer and a drink for your inconvenience, enjoy and we will keep you updated. The bar was getting full as people were rushing in to get something for free. It wasn't a surprise to Jean but it bothered her, even though she had witnessed this a lot. She just drank her beer and ate her food slowly, and continued to write about her surroundings and the reactions of other people. Jean had always tried to write everything down, because her notes could be used in another story.

Jean could see the waitress heading her way, and she hoped she didn't have to order more food, maybe another beer but no more food. The waitress came to her table and asked if she would like anything. Jean responded, "I think I will just have another beer, thank you !" As the waitress started to walk away, she stopped and returned to Jean's table. The waitress said, "You are so nice and polite, always smiling! Most of the other ones in here are rude and demanding. It's nice to have someone be nice!" Jean began to laugh and stated, " Girl I have worked in your profession for many years, so I know what you go through!" The waitress smiled a caring smile and thanked her and also said, "Yes if they have never walked in our shoes, they have no idea what we put up with. So, just for that, you are getting two beers!" Jean responded " I'll take it, only if you take this." She put a $20.00 bill on her tray. The waitresses eyes lit up and she said, "Thank you, very much. My name is Abby." As Jean shook Abby's hand she said, "Mine is Jean." They both smiled at each other and Abby was off and running again because there were complaints and comments about not being served. Some were staring at Jean, and she just stared back

The talk with Abby made Jean really started paying attention to the crowd. They were so rude to Abby and the bartenders. Returning their food, saying either the food was under cooked or overcooked, or that's not what they ordered. Not noticing that there only three people were taking care of over a hundred people in there! Jean was appalled, so she turned her concentration on writing. But, when she saw the people sitting at one table throw their food on the floor, she was disgusted! What? Were they animals? Jean just kept praying for the weather to get better so she could fly out of there and sit on the beach. She thought about going out and sit with the others that were unimpressed with the actions of the rest, but she had more writing to do, this was all very interesting.

Jean's eyes turned to the window, the weather was not getting better, now it was alternating between rain and snow, but there wasn't much anything anybody could do, just except it. She kept writing, mostly her thoughts about how people react to times like this, but what was about to happen, Jean did not expect. She looked up and there was a small crowd heading towards her, and for some reason they looked angry. Jean closed her notebook, so she could pay attention to what was being said. The leader of this parade slammed his hands down on her table and very loudly said, "Hey, what are you writing? If you are writing about us, you stop now because we do not give you permission!" This almost made Jean laugh his face, but she just responded, " Im writing about MY experience of today. I do not know your names, so I do not need your permission!" The man responded as he was reaching for her notebook, "Well if that's the case, let me read it." This made Jean angry and she held her ground and her notebook and very loudly said, "No you will not, this is personal and none of your business!" This made the man step back and they just walked away, mumbling and commenting on how rude Jean was. HAHA!

The small episode made Abby run to Jean's side, "Are you okay?" Jean smiled and simply said, "Oh yes, small man big mouth." This statement made Abby break out in hysterical laughter, Jean joined her. The voice came back on the intercom, "Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we are unable to fly today, but as we all know we cannot go against Mother Nature. You can stay here in chairs, or there is a shuttle to go across the street to the motel. Thank You, tomorrow will be better." Jean was choosing the shuttle, that made the others just drink more. She didn't care, she was leaving these obnoxious people, she was going to go take a shower and wash off the rudeness of the day. Abby knew what Jean was going to do and gave her a thumbs up. Abby asked someone in baggage to bring Jean's belongs to the front of the terminal, she was very grateful.

So, as she was walking out of the bar, Jean was getting cheers to leave, she just smiled and kept walking. As she got in the shuttle she wondered if everyone would act that way, or was this just a few? Jean hoped it was only a few.