First, can I just say ARGH again?!?! Just need to get that off my chest.
I am currently sitting in an airport in Philly. It's just past midnight. It's an unscheduled 'visit.' Here is how it has all gone down....
To recap---we were scheduled to go on a dream trip to Israel, paid for by my parents. My parents and my brother and wife were also going.
First...last Thursday, Jeff gets a severe pain in his leg that is still undiagnosed--possibly a blood clot--but the ER doctor didn't think so. However...he is no better. The ER doctor just said not to fly for 5-7 days. So Jeff cannot go on the dream trip to Israel with me.
He didn't want me to stay home. So I reluctantly kept my plans to go. But without him, the trip had lost a lot of its luster.
Then Sunday, my mom fell and broke her elbow. It is going to require surgery. She is having the surgery tomorrow and then she and my sister are going to join the tour on Friday, if all goes well. My sister was not originally going, but she is going to use Jeff's tour ticket.
OK--that was enough drama to make me pause and say...."hmmm.....is God wanting us to stay home?" I didn't get an answer, so I packed to go.
Jeff took me to the airport today and when we walked in and got in line, I saw something that made me gasp.
The lady in front of me had her passport in her hand.
I had forgotten mine.
We live a good hour from the airport--more when the traffic is bad--which it was. We got back in the car and started driving home. A sweet friend had sent me a text just at the moment that I realized I had no passport and I sent her a 'panic' message. She offered to go get my passport and meet us part way to Boston. {I have such awesome friends!}
I still didn't think I would make it. And I didn't really sweat it because I was still rattled and wondering if God even wanted me to go. So I prayed that if I wasn't supposed to go, I would miss the flight and if I was supposed to go, I would make it.
I arrived at the airport 15 minutes before my flight was supposed to take off. It was delayed. They checked my luggage and I was in.
OK.
But I just couldn't get over how weird it was that I didn't take my passport. I had even looked in the place where we keep them today (for something else) and I practically would have touched it. But I didn't even think about it?
Odd....
Well...the flight was delayed. And delayed. And delayed some more. By the time it finally boarded, they made an announcement saying that they could not guarantee that anyone with a connecting flight leaving before 10PM would make their connections. Mine left at 9:15.
What to do???
The counter guy was iffy on it--said I could try but didn't want to make any promises. I only had a few seconds to make the decision {and I'm horrible at making decisions}. I tend to be kind of a 'oh let's just go for it' kind of gal, so I got on the plane.
And by the way...I will say that US AIR has been a horrible experience so far. Just sayin... Need to give them a little word-of-mouth advertising.
Apparently there were a lot of weather-related delays. I sent a text to my brother, who was already in Philly with his wife and my dad, telling them that I had landed and was coming. He sent a text back that the flight attendant had told him that they were aware that there had been a lot of connecting flights coming late and that I should get a cart to give me a ride since it was a long walk between gates.
Of course there were no carts.
I tried to flag a few down and was curtly told they were picking up someone else and couldn't help me.
So I started to hurry across the airport. I called my brother and breathlessly told him I was on my way. They were still at the gate.
Pretty soon my calf muscles were burning--not that I'm out of shape or anything--just because was so far! hahahahaha
Finally, I decided to run. I took off my flip flops and was sprinting as fast as one can while dragging a rolling suitcase. A woman in a cart spotted me. She was driving toward me from the direction of the gate I needed to get to. I jumped in as she said, "I just dropped someone off there. I don't know if I can get you there in time but let's go." We were there in less than a minute. That means that it took her less than a minute to get to me. So from the time she dropped off the other person, it was less than two minutes.
I jumped out and was told,
"We're closed." There was a scanner there and it had been shut down.
I begged. I pleaded. I even cried. And I almost never cry. I was just so exhausted and could not believe I had missed a plane by a minute.
They looked at me unmovingly and said they couldn't do anything. Some other employee said, "Can you just open back up?" The scanner-Nazi said she couldn't--it would take too long to warm back up. I asked if she could just open my bag and look through it.
Nope.
Wow...really?
I pleaded some more. They were stone cold.
Finally I just sat down on one of the scanners and started bawling.
They just stared.
They told me I had to go back to the spot I had just come from to 'adjust my ticket.' {I was thinking about something else I might like to adjust--but I didn't.} I asked if they could call a cart then because I had just run all the way there and I wanted a ride back.
Nope. Couldn't do that.
Fine.
I said I would just sit there.
They said, "No you won't because you can't sit on the scanner."
Fine.
I jerked my suitcase and marched off with as much dignity as I could muster, whereby one them sarcastically said, 'Have a nice day."
She is lucky that I am a Christian.
Because in my world you don't kick someone when they are down. And I was obviously down.
Soon I was walking across the airport again. I found the service desk. There was a long line. Lots of other people who had missed their flights.
I waited and waited and finally got almost to the front. Suddenly, they announced that we all had to move to a different service desk and all of the people behind me rushed over there. Guess where I ended up?
At the end of the line.
I was so happy about that.
There is only one flight a day to Israel. So if I want to be on it, I will be sitting around here until 9:15 tomorrow night.
They did upgrade me to first class. Whoopdi-stinkin-do.
They informed me that since the delay was weather related, it wasn't their fault so they were not obligated to pay for me to have a hotel room for the night. But there was an information desk that could help me find a room.
Nice.
Of course the information desk for that was way across the airport.
So off I went.
The attendant was in the bathroom. For a long time.
When she came back she told me that most of the hotels were full due to conventions, graduations, and stranded fliers, but there was a rent-by-the-hour spa with room in the airport where I could spend the night. It was way back across the airport--back where I had just come from.
Fine.
There was a line when I got there and I saw the employee in charge shaking her head.
They were full.
So I went all the way back across the airport {AGAIN} to the information desk to see about a hotel room off site.
I was told that they were all full. ALL.OF.THEM.
But...they were going to pass out blanket and pillows to all the stranded travelers.
Wooo!
They were, however....guess where?
ALL.THE.WAY.BACK.ACROSS.THE.AIRPORT.
The blanket is mylar. Yes...like the balloons. It came in a tiny little ziploc bag.
Oh...and the alarms are being tested every 15 minutes. So not only are the hideous alarms going off, there is an announcement blaring that says, "A test of the blah, blah, blah is being conducted. Please disregard any of the alarms you may hear."
Oh, I would love to disregard them except for some reason it's kind of hard to sleep or think straight when a siren is going off every five minutes. And when there are not alarms, there are loud announcements about other things no one cares about.
This currently ends my tale of woe...although I'm sure it's not yet over.
If you are still reading....I really wrote this post for two reasons. The most important is this: If you would be willing to pray, I would love God to give me some clarity about this trip. Should I be going? Or is He trying to tell me to stay home? The circumstances are really just sooooo bizarre that I cannot just dismiss them. I need Him to speak to me-- not just through circumstances--but speak to my heart and tell me what to do. Part of me just wants to run home to my sweet family and husband. I want to be where God wants...so if He wants me to go home, I want Him to tell me. If He wants me in Israel, I need Him to tell me that. I know He has a plan and I am just struggling to figure out what it is right now.
The second reason I wrote it is because I just need to get my frustration off my chest!
