I had the first test of my mental stability for 2020. Last week I was working in Houston. It’s the third week of 12 straight weeks of travel. Several of those weeks I don’t get home until Saturday evening, which is a bummer, since I head out again early the following Monday.
So here’s the story. I left the school on Friday afternoon and headed for Houston Hobby to fly home. I was excited to get home on a Friday night. I had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta, so everything would be calm and relaxed.
When I dropped off the rental car and looked at my phone, I saw that my flight was delayed. No problem, I thought, I have a 2-hour cushion in Atlanta. By the time I arrived at the Delta counter, the delay was such that I was probably going to miss my connection. The agent was very kind and thorough and searched multiple airports to get me the best alternate arrangement, keeping me on the original flight just in case. The best alternative was to go from Atlanta to Minneapolis and then to Cedar Rapids, as the direct Atlanta to Cedar Rapids flight would get me home a few hours later.
I walked the length and breadth of Hobby while the flight delay was pushed later and later. Eventually there was no chance that I’d make it. The agent at check-in said a mechanical issue was delaying my plane from leaving Atlanta, so I’d probably get a hotel voucher if I missed my connection. These things happen. As disappointed as I was, I’d still arrive by noon on Saturday, as opposed to later in evening like the previous two weeks, so I’d still have a good amount of time at home before heading out again.
True to their word, Delta put me up in a Courtyard hotel. That sure beats sleeping in the airport and I appreciated it. I spent the night in Atlanta, and was booked on a flight out Saturday morning. Since Atlanta is one of the busiest airports, I arrived at the airport early. I didn’t get a seat assignment until I checked in. Row 19. I had a short 38 minute layover in Minneapolis. If all went on schedule, depending on my arrival and departure gates, I would probably be okay, but it would be tight. The plane was there. We boarded on time.
Everyone was in the plane getting settled, the flight attendants and flight crew were making their preparations, when the captain came over the intercom. “We’re just waiting for the ground crew to load a couple more bags and then we’ll be off”. A couple of bags. Shouldn’t be a problem.
I got out my book and started reading, not really paying attention. I learned long ago that the only thing in my control is that I show up on time for my flight. Everything else is out of my hands. As I was reading, it dawned on me that I’d gotten pretty far into my chapter and we hadn’t started moving. I looked at the time on my phone: 9:37. We were supposed to leave at 9:03 and we hadn’t moved.
I don’t know if this is standard across the board, but Delta closes the door 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time. So, my 38 minute layover is really more like 20 minutes. In his earlier announcement, the captain indicated that we might arrive earlier than expected due to good air conditions. I held out hope, but was getting nervous. Cedar Rapids flights always leave from the A gates in Minneapolis. If I arrived at anything but the closest C gates, there would be no way that I’d make it.
Finally we started moving. After we backed up, the captain announced that temperatures were low and as a precaution they needed to de-ice the plane as there was a rain/snow mix outside. Once that was done we would be off. Well, I thought, that was that. Further delays would eliminate any chance I had of making my connection. I messaged Kara to let her know not to leave to come get me until she had confirmation that I was on the plane.
I checked the Delta app in the air and saw that the next flight was delayed a little. Maybe there was still hope. There was nothing I could do, so I read my book and listened to a podcast and awaited my arrival.
Needless to say, I missed my flight. It left at 11:20 and we didn’t arrive until 11:37. I had already looked on the app for the next flight. It was not until 5:50pm. Another week with a Saturday lost in transit.
I’m not sure exactly how to describe what I was feeling when I disembarked. I was angry and disappointed and upset. I wanted to curse and yell at someone and cry. Mentally I knew that none of those reactions would be helpful.
I proceeded to the help area and spoke to the agent who got me on the next flight. Now, I like MSP, but 6 hrs in an airport is never a good time, even with lounge access.
I took a walk. I was in a bad mental state. I get this from time to time, where I feel beaten down, and I know that I’ll do something that I’ll regret. That something usually comes in the form of saying the wrong thing, hitting or kicking some solid object that just makes me hurt more, or eating things that I should stay away from. I recognized, given my surroundings, that the latter was the most dangerous.
I walked just about everywhere there was to walk. MSP is a square with some branches sticking out. I walked out to most of the branches and did the full square. Mostly, I needed time to help give me perspective. I ended up doing over 3 miles and 7k steps. All in dress shoes! I thought that not only did I need time, maybe I needed to push myself in the opposite direction of the temptation (food) that I wanted. Getting some exercise in the process was an added benefit.
So, as I write this, I’m sitting in the Delta lounge killing time until my next flight. I feel a little better. I’m still disappointed, but no longer angry, so that’s good.
Who knows why things like this happen. Life is so much more complex than we can ever really grasp, with the web of effects streaming out beyond our imagination.
While I was riding the hotel shuttle last night, another passenger was distraught on the phone with Delta. The four or five of us in the shuttle were all travellers who had missed connections and were getting put up in a hotel. Only one was talking to the customer service line, angry and releasing it on the agent. It was very interesting, as at that time, I was much calmer. I’ve slept overnight in Atlanta and I was just happy that I had a hotel. The other person sitting beside me was much more pleasant. He was thanking someone on the phone for something (I was trying not to eavesdrop).
As I walked around MSP, I recalled the contrast between the attitudes of the two people with whom I traveled that short distance. I want to be more like the person who was thankful in the midst of trying times, not the one who lashed out at someone else who had no control over the situation.
I think I passed my first test of the year. I hope that’s a good sign for things to come.
Photo courtesy of pixabay.com
The story you told has an interesting mood to it. When I started reading it I assumed the experience was all past and that you were narrating this in retrospect. When I found out that you were writing this in the middle of the experience, it changed how I saw it all. It was clear from the outset that you had a fairly serene mind about it all, but I thought it was because of distance from the experience, when in fact it was because you won the mental battle even though you were still in the middle of things.
Your observations also remind me of one of my favorite quotes from Viktor Frankl: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”