Name: Abigail M. Schilling
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
You seem so out of context
in this gaudy apartment complex
a stranger with your door key
explaining I'm just visiting
Taking a red eye flight seemed like a good idea at the time. Save time by flying while sleeping. Get a full day in here and arrive with a full day to go.
What a grave mistake.
I remember traveling to the airport on a Tuesday night. It was before Thanksgiving and my hippie friend, Sierra (her parents met while backpacking through the Sierra mountains), was taking me in her baby blue '82 Buick. The car didn't have a heater but she did burn incense. The incense started up my asthma and I remember coughing so hard I thought I was going to die. I also remember laughing so hard I thought I was going to die.
I almost missed my flight; we hadn't accounted for Thanksgiving traffic, I mean it was almost midnight. Who else in their right mind travels in the middle of the night? But we waited there, with the incense, and the broken radio, in the chipped paint Buick in line for the off-ramp.
I got through security with the usual pat-down and onto the plane. I had an aisle seat so I could put at least one leg out straight. And then the dreadfulness began. The Postal Service was right about recycled air. It was so cold. I had layers, several of them, I was, after all, traveling to Chicago. I was still cold. Those little pillows were thinner than my sweatshirt and the blankets are hardly large enough to cover my freakin' tray table let alone my body.
Four hours of hell later I landed, shortly after 6 a.m. in the Windy City. I went to baggage claim and leaned over waiting for my luggage. I think I finally fell asleep there. I got to my mom's house and crawled into her bed as she was leaving for work. I slept for several more hours with my cell phone next to my head. It rang four times and I never heard it.
Well, I learned my lesson. I booked my plane ticket last week to Washington, D.C. I will be traveling during the day, folks. Late morning departure, early evening arrival. Will I be bored on the plane? Probably.
But when I get there I hope to procure a job at an unnamed D.C.-based national paper. My life has the potential to be cool. Also, I'll get to see some people.
The Old Farmer's Almanac says the average temperature will be 56 degrees on October 19 and I couldn't be more excited.
posted by Abigail at 10:48 PM
3 Comments:
The Postal Service: righteous.
Did security really pat you down? You don't seem like the suspicious terrorist type. Maybe they were just trying to feel you up, in which case you should have decked one of them.
Of course, you'd probably have missed your flight if you went that route.
Security has pat me down every time I've flown since I was 13. I wear this bracelet, that in addition to never coming off my wrist because I grew, is made of 200 lbs. of sterling silver. It could be a weapon really.
By the way, I just spend way too long trying to decide if it was pat or patted. I think it's pat even though it is past indicative (that's right, I know linguistics, thank you French Professeur).
Oh, and for those of you that are confused, I'm flying Oct. 19. Not today. Although today would be cool.
Rsiwzt: The layman's Ritz cracker
You should write down what you plan to do when you get there. There's a real issue with people saying they're going to do things when they get to DC and then not doing them. It's rampant.
So write it down.
Hello, Abigail.
secret word: awmxkcqd (Polish word meaning "too many vowels" (ironically))
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