Leaving on a Jet Plane

In preparation for our eastward journey, yesterday I downloaded our boarding passes from the American Airlines site and checked to make sure that Molly, Josh (her fella) and I were still assigned to our chosen seats, all together toward the front of the plane. We were.

Alas, a while later a text from Molly revealed that all was not well after all: American had just tossed the three of us into random, separate locations around the plane, adding insult to injury by sticking me next to a window instead of an aisle, which I find terribly claustrophobic. She called the airlines to remedy the problem. When they returned her call seven hours later, they said there was nothing they could do, but to ask at the airport.

Early this morning the three of us convened at San Francisco International. Sadly, these airline representatives were just as ineffectual. Instead, once on the plane, Molly and Josh asked the woman next to them if she’d swap with me. She quite reasonably opted not to sacrifice her aisle for my window. So I, lonely as a cloud, stayed put a few rows away. As I reluctantly settled in, I chatted briefly with the man next to me. I soon learned that his son was sitting directly in front of me, and I offered to move up so they could be together. Overhearing our conversation, the guy on the aisle across from me chimed in to say he’d switch and take my new window seat in the bulkhead. And so, at last, I was well positioned to trade with the person in 13C: an aisle for an aisle. There was a sudden whirl of activity as we all played a speedy game of musical chairs just as the flight attendants told everyone to strap in. Here’s a little animation I built (Josh’s idea) that shows the sequence of my preflight relocations.

And off we flew, bound for northern Delaware.

The flight was, of course, long and boring. Here we are approaching our destination.

With amazing luck we arrived in Philadelphia with nary a problem (a bit early, even), jumped into a Delaware Express town car, and arrived in Greenville around 8:30, where Small awaited us outside in the small parking lot by the entrance to her new apartment. Last time I visited she hadn’t moved in yet. The place is small and cozy and she’s done it up beautifully with all her familiar treasures. We proceeded to inhale our dinner—individual pizzas for each—and kept Small up way past her bedtime.