December 29 2010
Well there were a lot of tears and good advice, but Dan got me to the airport and checked in one hour before my flight and after I said, “See you later.” I headed toward my security check. Waiting in line I finally made it to the “sort your stuff into bins according to our instruction” part when Dan surprised me by tapping me on my shoulder and gave me one last “See you later.”
I passed through security with a few minor hiccups such as, my belt setting off the metal detector or the TSA officer pulling the tub with my laptop in it and saying, “Your laptop needs to be in a bin by itself.” I looked at the gentleman and then inside the bin and saw nothing but my laptop. He saw that I was confused and began taking my laptop out of the carrying case….OH!….Well, no one ever mentioned that it has to be NAKED! So, I waited a few minutes and got all my belongings together and my shoes on and trudged to my gate!
I had 20 minutes to spare when I got to my gate all the seats were full or being used by luggage. It seems that everyone needs at least one seat between them and the next stranger, especially families, single people just talk on their phones and don’t care, like myself. I sat on the floor, though, starring at my plane talking to Dan while he drove home to much needed rest. I haven’t been letting him sleep the past few nights. I have been tossing and turning out of nervousness.
I hung up with Dan after promising that I would text him when I landed, and after most of the plane boarded began my boarding process. The line to board began inside the cold echo chamber that leads you to the plane and this was where I met Fighter Pilot Mike. Mike is a 6’4”, bloodshot eyed, greasy gray haired, mustached, 65 year old man with a worn suit hanging on his body. He began chit chatting with the woman in line in front of me and would eye me wondering if we were traveling together. Most of his conversation was about how he lives in Paris and used to be a fighter pilot. I thought nothing of it until I found my seat and it was right next to Mike the Fighter Pilot. Thankfully I had the window seat so I had something to lean on when I slept…or tried to sleep.
Mike rambled on about how after his tours through Vietnam he began a career as a Fed Ex commercial package flyer. I asked a few questions, to my own demise, and I learned that he would regularly fly thoroughbred studs to Australia for breeding and then take them back to the states. The clients would send 30 studs at a time and two veterinarians and handlers to maintain the herd on the PLANE! I can’t even fathom what that cost! He mentioned something about flying the original shark used in the Jaws movies to the east coast and how it made the plane smell like rotten fish for weeks afterward. I figured all these stories hit big with his girlfriends, he was STUD…uh huh…his breath was terrible and he had to lean in to talk to me because of the hum of the plane. Mike likes horses and has 400 acres in central California with some range cattle, but has homes in other countries as well as girlfriends! I guess after learning about his wife, their children, their children’s children, and all of his romances and famous flights I finally convinced him that I needed to sleep.
I woke to the message of the pilot letting the crew know that they needed to prepare for landing. Before I knew it I was at Miami International Airport and tired only getting three hours of sleep yesterday…The 29th of December…and I lose one more hour I think when I head to St. Kitts. Well, let’s see how well I function with little sleep. Might as well start now because it is only going to get worse in veterinary school!
Good Morning, Good night and Good Day to everyone!
Kat Bellew
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