Chandler asked, “Mom what was the highlight of your trip?”
“THE SAFE LANDING IN MONTROSE!!” I replied . . .
After a trip during which everything that could go wrong, did.
A true test to traveling with a friend? Will this friendship last? From our luggage not arriving in Munich to luggage being stolen, to missing our flight coming home from Munich . . . But wait, there’s more . . . LOL!
We arrive in Chicago and must spend the night, then catch a plane to Montrose on the next morning. We wake up, determined not to miss this flight and are very excited, no, let’s say, more like THRILLED to return home, I to my children and Mary Dawn to her mate and two dogs, Smokey and Valentino (well, let’s not forget my two chihuahuas, Lola and Bella — musn’t leave anyone out).
We have plenty of time at the airport to grab breakfast. We order at the counter and I notice everyone is drinking shots and beers at 9:30 am. This alone makes me want to throw up. Mary Dawn and I are laughing, watching this go on and on. Then, this very attractive woman in her early 20’s approaches the bar and orders a shot of whiskey with a Coke on the side — my mouth wide open with shock! She shoots this, obviously not her first time . . . everyone at the bar shaking their heads. (Even the men who were drinking are taken aback.) Now she announces, “I’m ready to fly!” I start to laugh out loud and, of course, Mary Dawn and I make some friends at the counter. We now have something in common with everyone sitting there waiting for a flight. This women returns to the bar many times for more drinks, and finally announces that she’s been drinking since 4:00 AM and HATES to fly. She also yells: “Telluride is the place to be!”
Oh, gosh . . . is she . . . could she . . . possibly be on the same flight as ours?
We have fun conversations with strangers, but feel at home.
Time to catch the plane.
So we get on the plane, Mary Dawn in the front and I second seat from the back. This is a very small plane and who gets on the plane last and sits down across the aisle from me? “Lady Drenched in Whiskey” not the “Lady in Red”.
Her panic begins, but I’m able to ignore her.
It’s a 3-hour flight, and we begin our descent into Montrose, over the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Everything feels perfect. We now see the runway and expect the normal procedure: flaps to set down, along with the wheels.
When then what happens? We head straight back up to the sky, and I mean straight back up, as in a vertical line. Now, sitting in the back, I lift my you-know-what, thinking that it’s going to hit the ground. LOL!
Everyone’s eyes now are wide open, and I begin to giggle (this is what I do when I’m nervous).
The women across the aisle starts to panic, and I mean panic.
We make an immediate right turn, and all of us on the left side are hanging onto the seat in front of us. Then we plunge to the left and turn sharply. I begin to pray . . .
It takes about 45 minutes to make a second landing attempt, luggage falling . . . stuff everywhere.
On the second attempt, we land . . . safely, smoothly.
Everyone takes a deep breath of relief. The pilot comes on the intercom to notify us and to apologize for the difficulty, but they had a warning sign on the control panel: “Flaps won’t drop.”
When telling this story to the boys. Chandler said, “I bet you were praying to God not to let the plane crash.“ I replied, “Actually not. I was praying for God to forgive me of all my sins, to take me straight to heaven and, of course, to take care of my children . . . to give them a good life.”
These were my last words.
WE ALL LAUGHED, so grateful that Mommy was home . . .
Ciao for now,
Deana
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Mar 31 2009