Were the flights cursed?

 My flights have seemed to be a bit cursed!

Yesterday's 4:30 flight was delayed till about 6, so I missed my 8:00 connection in Charlotte. 

I did meet a charming woman in Columbus while waiting in the wheelchair area. Aunt Julia, 93, was sitting in my chair when I returned from the ladies. Her companion asked did I really need it (since obviously I'd walked to the ladies and back). I said I just wanted to be boarded early. She said if I sat by her in another handicap-marked chair, that would happen. She was interested when I said I was 81, because she wanted to encourage her 81 year old aunt to travel. So she asked to take a selfie with me. Sure, I said. And...

I asked Alma (she was 60) to let me take a selfie too. We also shared some travel stories...mine about the President's influence on my flight through Charlotte just last Thursday, and hers from a few weeks ago about preparing to go on a cruise and needing a passport. Nice people!

But you want to hear more about the curse, I'll bet! Really just delays. All the staff of the airlines were very gracious and tried to be helpful for my needs. 

I did change to a later flight from Charlotte to Asheville, thank heavens there was one! I did have someone push a wheelchair through the Charlotte airport and even when we finally deplaned in Asheville...but first let me tell you that story!

Columbus to Charlotte I was on a small plane with the upturned wings and 5 little torpedo things under the wings like the one over there.

Saying goodbye Columbus around 7:00 pm. We hadn't been in the heavy rain which delayed both auto and air traffic earlier in getting to the airport for me, or for planes as well.

On the way up to Columbus on Thursday, I'd seen the Ohio river with sun reflecting off it, but my photo didn't come out. So I just got a glimpse of it as we flew south again.

And hello to Charlotte, which still somehow was visible as we prepared to land at 8:14!

The view of the Charlotte concourse while I was being pushed in a wheel chair.

The view of people behind me waiting while I ate a muffin for supper on my nice long layover between flights in Charlotte. The muffin was because I didn't find any other place within my limited walking distance to get dinner. I had obviously thanked my wheelchair pusher (shouldn't they have a special name, I wonder...) and said goodbye to her.

I think this was the larger kind of plane which I took to Asheville...and it was about half full,. leaving Charlotte about 11:00 pm.

Taxi-ing past many American Airline planes and a few other brands in Charlotte.

Then the landing in a downpour of a storm in Asheville.  We taxied to the area of gates by 11:40 pm, then parked while waiting for lightening storm to pass...and waited and waited. It could be seen out the window, many distant flashing of lightening, but the rain was still pelting down. Why did this matter? Well, the new gates in Asheville's airport have just been constructed, and they don't have any of those little tubes for people to walk from the plane into the airport yet. (I'm sure they have a name!)

So we waited for the rain to let up so we could walk down the three loops of ramps outside and then into the construction corridors. Finally at 12:13 am, I was first of wheelchair passengers off, who had actually waited till everyone else who was walking had deplaned . The chair pusher brought me down backwards and slowly. I was so grateful, but then she parked me inside to go back and help others. And as the flight crew deplaned, one of the flight attendants offered to push me back to baggage claim. What a treat! But of course she was tired (arriving around midnight and she had the return flight at 8 am back to Charlotte the next day, so I really felt compassion for her.

(Sorry, tired photographer didn't take any more photos)

I sat the requisite more waiting time for my bag, then met my friend who I'd been texting as to all these delays. Her car had been one of a few hundred waiting in lines in the rain for these passengers. 

And by 1:00 am I was home in bed. I canceled most of my early morning events today (Tuesday) but took my weary body over to the doctor's office to have a fasting blood draw at 8 am. Came home and made the cancelation calls and fell into bed again! But here I yam!

Not exactly cursed flights, just ones that reminded me that so much is out of the hands of the airlines, whether the crews on the ground or in the air, and not including any safety issues on the planes...it's just going to have things happen that delay things!

Today's quote:

Joy is the transformation of our suffering, not the escape of all we have to face.

MARK NEPO