The probability of a flight I scheduled fell into the gap. My turn at flight delay came around. I have flown without a hitch for the past two years, back and forth to Oregon, Washington, Missouri, Minnesota, Boston, New York, Florida, Georgia, and back to Wisconsin multiple times. Never, ever a hick up.
Today, however, the flights had Murphy’s Law all over them, my flights.
Thankfully, a positive mindset and faith got me through.
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Plan A: It started when we landed in Portland, Oregon. I received a text stating our return flight was changed from Portland, Oregon to Minneapolis, Minnesota to Portland, Oregon to Dallas, Texas, and from there, to Chicago, Illinois.
There were no flights to Green Bay, Wisconsin for four individuals.
Instead of hugs and hellos to my son who was to getting married the next day, I had to hang on the phone for an hour working out the details. The new flight: Alaska Airlines Portland to Chicago, Chicago to Green Bay.
As Murphy’s Law would have it, it didn’t happen that way.
Our flight crew was delayed. They were an hour and half off schedule due to resting regulations. So, we sat in the airplane, waiting for departure as the clock ticked. Our hour layover, in Chicago, mind you, was quickly diminishing.
As I looked out the plane window, I faced the unreal experience our next flight at Gate G9, pulling away from the terminal as we sat hopelessly waiting and watching it leave.
Sigh. I suppose I have more time to explore the airport!
Plan B. We get a hold of American Airlines Customer Assistance and they say we are on Standby with a full flight. They give us four tickets with the words, STAND BY written in purple ink splashed across the front. The chance of four random people NOT arriving for their flight was pretty slim.
Plan C. Rent a car. Our bags will take an hour to find. We’d drive for three and half hours, getting home about 7:45 PM, if they could find our bags. Take the car back to the airport during lunch break at the training we were scheduled to attend on Tuesday. Looking grim.
We go to Alaska Airlines and ask them for suggestions. They kindly gave us the customer service number and we then spend about an hour on the phone. I remain calm and talk in a slower than normal voice so I do not have to rush or panic. I speak clearly. I do not want to repeat myself. I hate repeating myself. It is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. (Time for mindfulness growth).
Plan D: Alaska Airlines: We can give you 50$ per passenger (x4) and 2500 flight miles per passenger (total 22,000 miles). You can talk to my supervisor. I asked for the supervisor. I was on hold for another 20 minutes.
The supervisor came on: We have a flight out of Chicago at 6:55 PM. We will be routed to Detroit, Michigan, then after an hour layover we have a flight for 20 minutes to Green Bay, Wisconsin. We agreed!
So, it is now 4:30 PM. The irony of walking several miles at O’Hare International Airport becomes a reality.
We walked from Terminal 3 at O’Hare International Airport to Terminal 2. It starts with F 2 and we walked all the way to E 16: The furthermost place at Delta (what are the chances?). The good news, it was almost a straight shot to the end.
We check-in. There is a complication. How do you check someone with an ID card and not a driver’s license? It was encouraging to have agents with a positive sense of direction and they continued to finish the ticketing with joyfulness and kindness.
Then, the agent said something which made me feel seen:
The ticket agent asked me, “Where are you going for your birthday?” and I was like, Huh? Then I said, “Ireland.” Seriously, why not dream big? He said, I will be in Germany on ‘OUR’ birthday. October 19. What are the chances? Libra to Libra, I felt blessed.
We had the tickets handed to us and we began the waiting game for the next hour and half for a flight.
So, I suppose, in all things, we can be grateful. On the last flight, I created a document which talks about the things you want to do, the things you are grateful for at the days in and the things you could of done to make the day better.
I guess, for me, I could say we are here, safe and all alive. We are together. We will be home tonight, provided Detroit’s flight is still on time and we have a space to sit. I suppose.
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The bottom line: When things go well, like they do most of the time, we forget how much and how many people face struggles and hurdles. Their specific existence is a trial we cannot comprehend until it happens to us. The immense struggles people face daily come to light when we experience traumas, tragedy, and trials.
Murphy’s Law struck us, in a mega-monumental way with doors shutting, flights fleeing, and gates guarding. The irony of travel plans failing inevitably happens when you least expect it. Thankfully, I believe all things come to be in time, and my faith was tested today. I learned:
…To value each moment.
As par for the course, our tickets did not have seat numbers on them. When we arrived in Detroit, we went to our gate and made sure they matched. We did not check for seats. So, the story continues. After some more issues, we did get seat numbers.
Now, we are here, in Detroit, Michigan. Polite was not on the list tonight by the attendants at the gate. I remained polite. I did not want to be affected by the negativity.
We waited about an hour before catching a flight to Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Law of Murphy continued as I ended up sitting in the farthest seat back you could possibly sit. Right near my seat the lavatory rested, beckoning the stinky smells to emit into the cabin, and the noise of the jet engines roared so loudly I was sure my brain lost cells. The positive in all of the experience was the my seat partner was a former school teacher, who experienced domestic violence with her daughter’s husband and how much alcohol has dominated this specific daughter’s life. I was able to listen, encourage, and share insight with her. Blessed moments, despite Murphy’s Law.
Home, however, felt so wonderful to walk into, greeted by doggies and ratties. My bed welcomed me as I folded myself up in my heavy blankets, favorite pillows, and my doggy. I slept hard and woke up feeling so much better.
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Life Experiences, Ants, and Picnics
No matter what life experience arrives at your door, embrace it with a positive outlook.
Life is not worth getting upset over things you cannot control. The best advice I received had to do with ants at a picnic. You find yourself at a park, blanket laid out, and the wonderful friend chicken ready to eat, only to find ants crawling on your legs and the blanket, searching for the chicken crumbs. No matter how many times you swish them off, new ones take their place.
Life is full of ants…
Ants, take the form of impossible people, bad drivers, employers who do not care, as well as anyone who passes your life and leaves some trace of negativity in their wake. ‘Ants’ are also inhabiting the flights we wait for and the ones we ride in to get to the next destination.
When we accept the ants who surround us in some form, we can resume enjoying the picnic of life, even in a jetliner. I learned to let it go, and let the ants do their thing, and enjoy my own moments, for who knows, I might be an impossible ‘ant’ for someone I pass by. We do not have to ‘hang’ around the ants, however, we do not have to let them destroy our time.
Life is like a picnic, filled with Murphy’s Law moments and so much more. It is also filled with coffee and book stores, so I suppose, life is really, not so bad.
~Just a thought by Pamela
Thank you for taking the time to read the article. If you have some airport story, go ahead and share it. I would love to listen in to your ‘Murphy’s Law’ experience and laugh with you!
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Previously published on Medium.com.
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Photo credit: Pamela J. Nikodem