I was just trying to get to Minnesota.
---------When I was in 5th grade, on the way home from school one day, the school bus driver forgot to stop at my stop. I was terrified. And I did what I always do when I’m scared. I panicked. And I started to cry. Those tears were embarrassing because 1) I was a big 5th Grader and 2) I was sobbing in front of my elementary school crush Greg Tarlo whom I was 97% sure was going to be my future husband one day.
But as the bus rumbled past my stop, thoughts of my future marital bliss weren’t on my mind. I was more concerned about where I was going to end up. Even more concerning than that though was how I was going to communicate with my mom to tell her where I was once I ended up where I ended up.
This all happened before the age of the cell phone. Before the car phone, even. It was a time when people saved their quarters
to pay Ma Bell for the privilege of using one of her phones. Which worked great. Unless you couldn’t hear on them. Like me.
The fear of being stuck somewhere without any way to communicate
with my mother ship runs deep. And
usually results in lots of tears.
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Two Fridays ago, at 3 in the afternoon, I set off on a trip that
would end in Minneapolis at 8:00 Central Standard Time.
By 3:45 PM, I ran into my first travel obstacle, a delayed flight
from Baltimore to Philadelphia. But I wasn’t
worried…my flight from Philadelphia to Minneapolis was delayed too. Travel Karma was on my side.
By 6:43 PM, Travel Karma had bitten me in the ass.
By 7:05 PM, I was in full-scale-the-bus-driver-didn’t-stop-at-my-stop-and-what-if-I-never-see-my-family-again
panic mode.
And then I started to cry.
I had no idea where I was going to end up.
Two Fridays ago, it wasn’t Minnesota.
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