once a midwest girl ,always a midwest girl
Comments(8) Well we just returned from 8 glorious days in Michigan with my family. Tim and I stayed with my parents.We were supposed to arrive late Friday night ,around 11 but ,of course got in closer to 1 am. Our connecting flight flew out of Dallas..as we waited to board it,I watched as the ‘maintenance worker’ and 2 pilots repeatedly walked over to one of the airplanes wings and than back inside the plane,and than out again to inspect that wing, knock on it, run their hand over a questionable area…this made me feel so secure and eager to fly …NOT…we finally boarded ,taxied to our position,and on the way to that spot,it sounded like we had a flat tire or something,and all of us just nervously looked at each other,we than waited some more and watched as all these other planes took off,mind you ,I hit my head at least 3 times in this plane before sitting down,and I’m 5’3,and in the bathroom the sink was taped up because their was no running water,only those KFC handiwipes…finally the plane started gunning its engine ONLY to do a U turn back to the terminal..”Hello this is Commander …we have a slight problem,you may have heard…our hydraulic automatic steering? is not working,now we don’t always need this,and the warning light is on,but we’re going to have this looked at,and hope to have the problem solved soon.”
I want to get off this tiny little thing and after awhile go up to the one flight attendant to ask if we can de-board..and he re- assures me that he’s worked here over 38 years,and not to worry.,,etc..and than after about 20 minutes the pilot comes back on and tells us ,its showing up on his screen as a problem,but the equipment seems to be working fine…I’m not convinced..Suddenly after more waiting, I see one of the pilots coming to the back of the plane to use the 1 bathroom, when he’s finished ,I stop him and grill him on what s wrong,and how I saw them examining the plane before we got on etc…he proceeds to tell me, he’s not one to take chances..and he could fly it,but it’s more work for him,a nd the flight home was going to be another 3 and a half hours, but now by leaving later (a real blessing in disguise) we’re going to fly towards Oklahoma,and than cut over straight to Michigan,thus avoiding all the thunderstorms and tornado activity…and the flight will not be as long as what they had mapped out for them. And he wants to get home safely too. Needless to say I felt a bit better,and enjoyed his honesty…
When we did take off again, over an hour later, that same noise occurred but we got up safely and we did fly in the middle of two storms. I always pray that we don’t leave if there’s anything wrong..and that our Guardian Angels protect and cover us from all angles..and get us up there, and clear the paths of storms…and by golly they came thru again…and the storms were majestic and beautiful and the lightning all around us was spectacular and awesome and scary…but we rode smoothly thru it,as on angels wings…and safely landed to my dad ( he thankfully told my mom to get some sleep ) and sister Jody there to greet us at the airport… Thank God …
MORE TO COME OF THE ACTUAL VISIT..as reliving this tired me out..lol
ONLY TO YOU, JENNIFER, COULD THIS HAPPEN!!! You really should write a book as you have so many interesting stories! My favorite being the elevator story, though I know it’s not yours!!! My gosh girl!! Thank God for guardian angels my friend. I know you hate to fly, what an experience! Glad you had a great time with your family and that you are home safe and sound! Love ya lots! Wanda
Oh my! I can’t believe this. That had to be extremely scary. I am so glad that you made it back safe.
That is so good.
Amen! Thank God for guardian angels and that you two are safe. I have been to Michigan 2x and both flights coming over have had some kind of problem. A delay coming over the first and second time to Michigan. The flight being five hours late going home to California after Chi-town. When I went over, there was major turbulence, I was comforting a girl who was flying with the flu. One of the overhead compartments came undone over a passenger six rows away. I was praying that nothing would come out of the open compartment. Going home, surprising was quite pleasant–considering it was going through Denver. I really love your hometown, Grand Rapids so much. So nice and green.
Glad to hear that you had a great time being with your family. Looking forward to the next installment of your visit home. I hope that was full of love, fun and great times! Cheers!
Hey Jennifer,
Glad to hear everything travel wise worked out okay for you & Tim. I don’t know if I would have stayed on board & flown after seeing them look over the plan wing & with the delays. You always have your guardian angels watching over you. Can’t wait to hear more about the trip etc.
Love, Stacey
Welcome Back!
I just love your narratives…you are so descriptive! When I first started reading this I said to myself…this sounds like my life flying four days a week on business out of DFW all year long. You are so right…there must be Guardian Angels in addition to us passengers & crew crossing both our fingers & toes when flying! Unfortunately…traveling is going to get worse before better. Glad that you & Tim made it to Michigan safely…waiting for Part II: The Actual Visit…you are so funny!
Wow! That’s all I can say! I start praying about a week before my flights anymore. I used to make fun of my mom for being afraid of flying, and now I’m channeling her! Glad you made it back safely and that you had a great time with family and friends…makes it all worth it(?)!
OMG Jen, another crazy ‘adventure’ that you got through with the help of those guardian angels!! Thank goodness you and Tim made it safe and sound to Michigan and back.Love reading your always poignant and funny recap. I hate to fly too; airports and planes make me nervous, although flying is probably safer than the traffic in NYC!Look forward to hearing more details about your neice’s wedding . Love ya, Pam
Great story, Jennifer. Just saw Jackie Mason on Broadway last week, and he’s still telling those same tired stories about the duty free shops and using frequent flyer miles…he needs some new material, and yours would be great.
Was the flight crowded? I fly every other week and my flights have been packed lately. And you’ve got to be a more popular middle-seater than I am. When I try to get into the middle seat, people still pretend not to see me, thinking somehow I’ll go away.
Did your luggage join you both ways? On my last flight, I asked the attendant to check one bag to LA and one to SF. “I can’t do that sir” was the response. “Well, you did it last week.” (Relax, Jen, it’s an old Henny Youngman line…you thought I was Rick Elice for a minute, huh?)
Glad you and Tim are home safe and sound, my friend.