A Flight To Nowhere In Particular

I sit down.

I always get the aisle seat. Too damn tall to be in the window. Maybe, if I get lucky, I can get an emergency exit aisle. That leg room can make all of the difference, I’m fine with just an aisle seat though. I get my headphones, my iPad, and a book. I always travel with two books, one new and my copy of Hamlet. This is where I cheat a little. Remember that leg room that I mentioned? You’re going to lose a lot more of that if you put your bag under the seat. So, I don’t. I know, sue me. I put it under my legs and then put my jacket over my knees. The flight attendant can’t tell the different and I got an extra foot and a half of clear living space. It’s wonderful. It could be eighty degrees out and I am still traveling with a jacket. The best leg cover you’ll ever find. There is one very key rule to this little cheat though. When someone stands up, get the damn bag out of their way. People are usually pretty understanding of why I do it, but give them the courtesy of not having to step over your bag to get out.

Before I put my headphones on, I listen to the announcements. I have heard it so many times before. Every now and then a flight attendant will try to put a new spin on it, but in the end, it’s all the same. I don’t listen because I think anything has changed. It’s just a matter of respect. I may cheat on the little things, but I remain respectful. Listen when someone talks, that simple. After they’re done, the headphones go on. I usually just play music at first, because one of the best parts is coming up.

I will put on something slow, a track that builds toward something. And then it starts. We pull out of the gateway and move toward the runway. The movement can be jerky at times, but it’s usually smooth sailing. Then it happens. The plane gains speed, faster and faster. I close my eyes and I can feel the soft bumps from the imperfections in the asphalt. I can feel us gaining speed. You can start to feel the resistance against gravity as the plane fights to get in the air. That’s when I open my eyes. The split second before we lift off the ground. And then, we’re airborne. I take my headphones off again to listen to the flight attendant do their second speech. “Thanks for flying with us!” Oh, no problem. Absolutely my pleasure.

Most days, at some point, I will look up into the sky and see a plane overhead. Without fail I wonder, where are they going? Have I ever been there? I wonder if anyone has an adventure planned. It makes me long for an airport. The urge to be up there can be unbearable at times.

The flight can be tedious to some. It’s hours spent in a big metal tube. Most sleep. Not me, I never sleep. For years I thought it was a matter of control. I’m always the driver, I should be flying the plane. But after years of flying from place to place, one after another, sometimes two or three in as many weeks, I started to think it was more than that. It’s the anticipation.

Where am I going? L.A.? Chicago? New York? D.C.? Miami? What’s in store when I get there? What do I do first? Business or pleasure? It’s like music to my ears. “Are you traveling for business or pleasure?” It’s always pleasure. I may be working, but not behind a desk. Not behind my desk. It’s time to see what this place has to offer. Nowhere has beat me yet and you won’t either.

I get lost in my thoughts for who knows how long and then the drink cart rolls by. “Can I get a can of ginger ale please?” That’s very important phrasing. When they ask what you want to drink, if you’re going for a soda, you want the CAN of soda. You say can, they leave the can. You just say coke, you get the little Dixie cup of coke and that’s it. I have drink vouchers out of the wazoo, maybe I’ll get a Jack and Coke. They usually mix pretty good on the flights because the bottle is the bottle. No more, no less.

So now I go back to my music. Maybe watch a movie on my iPad, maybe read. “Alas poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.” But it’s all working toward an end, isn’t it? Some read, some flip through magazines, some spend the entire flight trying to control their children. All with one thought on their minds until those sweet words are spoken through the PA system.

“We will be beginning our decent shortly into…. We now ask that you turn off all electronic devices and please make sure that your seat backs and tray tables are in the upright and locked position. Thank you.” No sweeter words have ever been spoken. You might as well end it with “get ready, your adventure begins…now.”

And then we break through the clouds. All at once the sight of the city rushes our senses. You may have seen the same city ten times before, but you are always going to notice something different. A building got a new paint job that you can probably see from space now. They did construction on this highway and the interchanges look a lot more efficient. There is only one car on Highway 99 right now, odd for this time of day. It’s even better at night. The lights. Oh, the lights. It’s like seeing the stars above, but below your feet. You’re never going to see a better replica of what it must be like to look down from Heaven.

We get closer and closer to the ground. The lights are getting brighter. The area is becoming clearer. Cars can be seen as more than just dots moving along the streets. Buildings, fields, lakes, they all start to take shape. You’ve reached your destination and can finally see it up close and personal. Then the airport comes into view and another great part has arrived. That final moment, the plane almost hovering in place inches from the ground. I always hold my breath. Not out of worry, I have bounced off of my fair share of runways. Par for the course at this point. No, it’s the anticipation again. As if that last second could last a lifetime.

Then…touchdown. Like you were never in the air at all. It doesn’t matter where you are, something new will come of it. Just remember to take it in and enjoy the adventure. Safe travels everyone.