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| March 3, 1997 |
Get It: 83 |
Vol. 1, No. 35 |
DATELINE SAN JOSE: It beat
comin' 'cross country in a covered wagon ... slightly
... I flew from Baltimore to Chicago on the first leg
... a full plane because the airline had put in a smaller
plane for the flight ... they served "brunch"
... a roll a third the size of a hot dog bun with a small
scrap of ham, 6 Junior Mints in a box 'n a dollhouse-sized
bag of Fritos ... I kept tryin' to peer through the First
Class curtain ... seein' if Mr. Omelette's up there fixin'
'em somethin' scrumptious ... it took us an additional
30 minutes because of headwinds ... but I had 3 hours
to kill in Chicago ... in a fit of paranoia I'd decided
to carry-on all my stuff ... it was heavy ... I drug it
through the airport ... everywhere I went ... otherwise
they'd a called in a robot ... hauled it out to the edge
of the airport 'n blown it up ... I can almost tie my
shoes without bendin' over now ... my next flight was
at 3:30 local time ... I kept lookin' at my watch ...
plenty o' time ... it was only 10 'til 2 Baltimore time
... I scrummaged in my briefcase 'n found a magazine to
read ... a fellow traveler was sittin' 'cross from me
... he was pullin' fries out of a McD's bag ... mmmmmmm
... I was gettin' a little thirsty ... maybe I could jes'
wander down 'n "buy a cup o' coffee" ... after
all it was only 10 'til 2 ... I hitched up my bags 'n
headed down the concourse in search of Golden Arches ...
finally found 'em ... egads! ... apparently there's a
surcharge on stuff at the airport ... duh! ... I settled
for a "cup 'o coffee" ... (I should prob'ly
'splain the cup o' coffee thing ... at the end of one
of our recent vacation trips ... we'd been drivin' all
day ... the next stop was home ... we were 'bout to 'cross
the Potomac into Maryland comin' up the back way ... everyone
was prob'ly hungry but they were snorin' so loud I couldn't
ask 'em ... I was fightin' a losin' battle o' fatigue
... I spotted the Golden Arches 'n pulled in ... everyone
started to stir but I told 'em to stay put I'd be back
in jes' a second 'cuz I was runnin' in to get a cup o'coffee
... as I was puttin' the sugar in it I was overcome with
hunger thinkin' 'bout havin' a hamburger ... I hopped
back in line 'n bought a plain one ... I stepped back
to the coffee bar 'n proceeded to stuff it in my mouth
... when who should appear at the door but my sleepy-eyed
youngest! ... he looked up ... I almost choked ... cheeks
stuffed with bun like a hamster tryin' to eat carrots
... he headed straight for the bathroom without uttering
a word ... I finished fixin' my coffee 'n we headed back
to the truck ... I had no choice but to confess ... I
knew that he'd squeal before we'd get home ... now everytime
I suggest that I'm goin' to get a cup o' coffee somewhere
I face the knowin' stares of my family ... it's like I'm
wearin' Scarlet Arches!) ... I realized my mistake immediately
... how was I gonna carry my stuff 'n the coffee? ...
I managed to make it back to the gate 'n settled in ...
after all it was only 10 'til 2 ... the pilot showed up
... then some flight attendants came scootin' up ... I
was sittin' next to the desk where they were gatherin'
'n introducin' themselves ... I learned a lot of interestin'
tidbits ... but worst of all I got to listen to the pilot
briefin' the stews ... this was the fifth day of flyin'
for 'er ... she was on 'er way home ... there were terrific
headwinds so we were gonna fly low to avoid it ... but
we'd be burnin' lots o' fuel 'n havin' some problems with
turbulence ... other planes were havin' to set down at
airports along the way to refuel ... somehow I was feelin'
like I didn't wanna be hearin' this ... I figgered I better
head down to the newsstand 'n see if there was somethin'
I could find to keep me occupied for what was shapin'
up to be an extra long flight ... I dragged my baggage
up 'n down the concourse one more time ... as I approached
the gate area I noticed that people were startin' to line
up ... like they were gonna start boardin' or somethin'
... I had jes' checked my watch 'n it was only 10 'til
2 ... what silly people! ... then I happened to glance
up at one o' those digital time displays 'n it read 3:20
... it must be wrong! ... my watch said it was 10 'til
2 'n that was Baltimore time at that! ... then it dawned
on me that I hadn't changed my watch back to bein' a watch
after usin' it as a stopwatch to time the flight over!
... I told ya I was bored! ... 'n almost missed my plane
to boot!
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"Don't penalize yourself by
insisting on carrying mental baggage on your life journey.
Turn it over to the guy at the curb. So what if it gets
lost, you don't really need it anyway." -- Mikey,
Thinkin' Too Hard
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| Mikey's Muse(tm)
is published weekdays as a commentary on stuff. Editor,
Michael T. Rusk. Copyright © 1997 by Michael T. Rusk.
Printed in the U.S.A. This publication may be distributed
freely as long as there is no charge. Commentary is loosely
based on actual events and may contain embellishments,
bits of fiction, and editorial liberties (lies) under
the guise of poetic license. All characters portrayed
in my writing are purely fictional and any resemblance
to any person, company or animal is purely unintentional.
If you don't get it, you just don't get it. Don't blame
me for anything I say and don't do anything I say, either.
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