Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
4C6K5E
These few letters and numbers identify the Southwest flight we will board tomorrow night at 8:30. It is a nonstop flight winging to Los Angeles, CA. We don’t arrive until 10-something at LAX, a very busy airport. We offered to Uber to the hotel, but Ted insists he will pick us up. Apparently there is construction at the airport and the Uber pick up place requires a shuttle bus ride. I am grateful that he will be accommodating us, since the idea of shlepping suitcases on and off a shuttle does not thrill me. We aren’t the enthusiastic and physically fit travelers that we used to be. Getting picked up matters now. And, Rose will carry us to Lambert field a couple of hours before flight time – another luxury for which I am grateful.
I think about all the hours I have spent packing – usually at almost the last minute – and getting to an airport. I have been traveling by air literally all my life, starting in 1949 and going on in 2024. That’s a lot of rides through the atmosphere at over thirty thousand feet. I once looked up the ambient temperature that high up, and it is as low as minus forty degrees. We are separated from that instant freeze by a thin skin of aluminum mixed with small quantities of steel and titanium. Really, I never take flying for granted. From the moment that passengers are pressed back into the seats at take-off to a sometimes bumpy landing, flight is a miracle to me. A Boeing 737 fully loaded weighs 174,200 pounds. The power that it takes to defy gravity at that weight is amazing to me.
When we visit LA we stay at a Best Western a couple of miles from Ted and Sarah’s apartment. I am a platinum BW member, so upon arrival I get my choice of a snack, and a bottle of water. I appreciate the water because flying is dehydrating. The controlled air flow in an airplane is dry at only 10 %– 20% humidity, as opposed to the 35% – 65% found in earthbound environments. Both Jan and I will wear masks on board as a precaution. Even though the air in a plane is filtered and replaced every two minutes, the lack of humidity makes it more likely to catch a virus. Between Covid and RSV and influenza viruses floating around we’d rather be safe than sorry.
At this age, I’ve finally learned how freeing it is to check a bag, rather than wheel it around on to the plane and into an overhead compartment. Southwest airlines allows two checked bags per passenger. They are much more generous in that regard than most other airlines. I resent paying for a service that used to be free. Anyway, in my 70’s I have been learning to make accommodations. I still will not request a wheelchair so I can get some steps in. Jan, on the other hand, always asks for one. The perk to accompanying her is that we get to board early. There are some really hard working people at airports wheeling passengers to their gates. Jan always tips generously to honor their service.
The point of all this voyaging is to spend a few days with Ted and Sarah. We don’t see them very often, so this opportunity to hang out with them is precious. We usually don’t plan a lot of activities so we can truly spend time together. But this trip may include a boat ride out to where whales can be seen leaping, and spouting sprays of water. Ted will make a little grocery run so that Jan has some foods in the hotel for when her blood sugar dips.
Today, though, I will go to work and check mail, respond to the mail, and call a few people looking for immigration help. Mail from USCIS sometimes contains work that must be done expeditiously. Calls in response to voice mails sometimes result in a brand new cases to be opened and assigned to one of the four of us. This work never slows down.
Tomorrow? Bon Voyage!