"Flyin' the friendly skies...er, not always!
Oh, sure, once you get to your destination, things are cool.
Sometimes the flight there can get "interesting."
The Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City had oversize "art" scattered around its grounds.
And this was taken from a car window when close by parking was non-existent.
I waited for the gent in red to wander into the frame to give some sense of scale.
Imagine just how big the racquet would be!
The "Thinker" was also shot from a double-parked car
My small pocket-sized digital camera with a 25mm to 500mm zoom lens makes this easy to do.
In fact, my cousins and I did not even go into the Nelson Museum that day.
Years ago I took a visiting Missouri farmer inside and he was amazed!
"WOW," he enthused, "you could pack a lotta hay in here!"
But this tale is about the flight getting to KC from San Diego on Southwest Airlines.
Let's set the picture: when I boarded I was seated in the third row between two rather "large" sisters who were returning from a professional bowling tournament. The one on the aisle laughed and said her sister preferred the window seat.
I faced a nearly four-hour flight with my arms crossed in front of my chest as the ladies each had laid claim to the armrests. Sigh.
The flight attendant placed my requested cup of coffee on the tray I was able to pull down.
Then
somebody "bumped" the tray and the full cup of hot coffee - with cream and sugar - poured into my lap!
That lady that had famously
sued McDonald's had it right - coffee-in-your-lap is VERY hot. And it goes everywhere as it quickly soaks down to your skin.
No, I did NOT pause to take any pictures.
I was in pain and VERY embarrassed. The attendant was there, as small napkins were being passed to me. A few tiny little paper napkins. The calm airline employee encouraged me to undo my seatbelt, squeeze myself out to the aisle and follow her forward to the lavatory.
Painfully aware of my soggy status, I stood at the open door and she handed me a can of soda water and several large Kotex. "Sorry, we don't have any sponges, but go inside, apply the soda to the female napkin and you should be able to remove most of the coffee stain from your khaki trousers."
She obviously had done this before even if it was new to me.
As I sponged the soda, I could see improvement in my splattered stained crotch. More soda, more applications and I started to feel this might NOT be the end of the world.
As I exited the lav - and the entire plane now could see I obviously had had an accident - I smiled when I saw the aisle seat now was empty as the aisle-sister had moved over to be next to her sister.
YAY! It was almost worth the embarrassment to now sit and relax in blissful expanded comfort.
I thanked the flight attendant and asked for a bloody Mary.
She set it down, smiled as she told me to be careful and said: "It's on us, try to relax."
(Click on the photos and links for more details.)
Thanks for sharing an airborne embarrassing moment.
Hope it never happens to you!
As a careful coffee drinker, I tend to wear khaki pants now.
Labels: flight atendant, Kotex napkins as a man's friend, McDonald's hot Coffe Caper, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Southwest Airlines, Uneventful Bloody mary
It's OK to "look sharp"....
This happens to be a Cedar-planked salmon brought to my table while still flaming.
The plank was burning and the fish was delicious.
I was in Cheyenne, Wyoming and worried that my choices for seafood would be limited to local trout.
Not a bad meal but I saw this on the menu and chose this instead.
Chile was where this came from and it was prepared great on a cold and blustery night.
My younger brother and I had made a hasty flight to Wyoming to say goodbye to our older brother who had just been diagnosed with a terminal disease. He was at home with Hospice.
He was aware we were there and I saw he was surrounded by family and love. I am happy for that!
He passed peacefully on Tuesday morning.
In his honor, that afternoon I stopped by a saloon next to the downtown historic train depot and had a beer in his name.
I asked the bartender what it meant on the napkin that this was also a "Liquormart?"
The obvious answer was you could step into another part of the room and buy bottled spirits to go.
No, there were no big red dots on the front of the building.
Just a snug bar, a few afternoon workmen in heavy overalls taking a break and plenty of empty tables and chairs awaiting the dinner crowd.
We had flown into Denver on Saturday and rented a car to drive the hundred or so miles up to the Wyoming Capital city. It was snowing lightly but the roads were salted and plowed so no problem.
I have written before about my older brother Jerry, although his friends and family up here knew him as Virgil.
Our Dad was Virgil Gerald Boyd and his first son was a Junior.
The Boyd Brothers ran all around Charleston growing up.
Well, all around Ansonborough.
Kids played pretty close to home back then, usually in the neighborhood, so we could hear when we were called in for supper.
In those days, my older brother was also my taller brother but it wasn't long after I entered my teens, he became just older, not taller.
Even my younger brother surpassed Jerry in height.
Poor guy!
Let's just say he never had to duck his head when coming through a doorway.
I don't really recall the WWII war years but apparently Mom would take her two boys for a walk up the few blocks from Society Street to Marion Square.
Maybe it was still the Citadel in the 1940s? I'll have to look that up.
I guess my Dad was taking the picture and I look like the attentive photographer I would become in the future.
At least he followed the Eastman Kodak suggestion that you stand with the sun shining over your right shoulder.
We were not squinting so, all in all, Dad, I approve this picture.
I'm guessing he did not say "Smile."
And, yes, my right hand IS clinging to my Mom's dress.
Taller brother is keeping an alert eye.
I was able to meet his extended family as they popped in and out and see the love and care they had for my brother.
His daughter was being assisted by
Hospice and they delivered what was promised: peace, comfort and dignity for the patient.
Quietly in the background, they attended to his needs.
They kept him as alert as possible while adding moral and spiritual support to the entire family.
Most importantly, we were able to look at pictures and videos that showed how healthy, happy and active he had been.
Several years before, his daughter had suggested he move up to Wyoming and be embraced by family. He quickly made friends and a church connection.
He was re-married the end of September and looked forward to a nice, comfortable life but medical problems arose and accelerated his decline.
The house was filled with an array of babies!
New life being celebrated and his pastor was there to comfort his soul.
My younger brother and I are pleased we got the timing right and were able to communicate - mainly through our talking and mutual hand squeezes - that he knew we were there for him.
I hope he knows I still looked up to him even after I grew taller.
(Click on the photos for more detail.)
Oh, the headline! We drove back to Denver after his passing and ate at
Timberline Steak House, near Gate 39C at the airport. Because of the cute name, I had the
Mile High Club sandwich and my brother ordered a thick steak.
Looked great but he was having a problem cutting it with a table knife. We were told no sharp knives were allowed in the airport area. He asked if the chef had one?
"Of course," smiled the server.
"Then please have him cut my steak into small pieces," brother responded. The plate was shortly returned, the meat neatly cut and a fresh order of french fries heaped alongside.
Labels: Albany Restaurant and Liquormart, capital of Wyoming, Cheyenne, Denver International Airport, Hospice, older brother was not taller, Southwest Airlines, steak knives not allowed, Timberline Steak House
"Just Flew In From Chicago..."
"..and Boy, are my arms tired.".
Actually, I'm
NOT tired even though I spent the weekend on
Southwest Airlines.
Several months ago, Charleston was fortunate to have them start service here.
Welcome
"Bags Fly Free!" Sorry it took this long for me to fly with you.
I left Saturday morning for Kansas City with a stop in Chicago. Quick trip for a grandson's wedding reception and I got back home Sunday evening.
My first time flying on a One-class airline. No seat assignments but it's organized beautifully. You board based on when you made your reservation.
I walked down the aisle and picked an aisle seat on each flight.
On one, the middle seat stayed empty and I stretched out and ordered myself a beer.
Guess I had never before flown in and out of Midway instead of O'Hare, That's where I saw the
Blues Brothers Salute statues.
This airline also passes out those little bags of peanuts and other munchies along with free soft drinks.
I like that you don't have to slowly drag your luggage past all those staring people in First Class to find your seat back in "steerage."
That's pretty classy.
(Click on the photos for more detail.Two flights on Saturday and two on Sunday. ALL were on time and mostly filled.) Thanks for reading my stuff.
Labels: Battle of Midway, Blues Brothers, First Class, MDW, middle seats, Midway Field, O'Hare, Southwest Airlines
Imagine just how big the racquet would be!
