Day 0 - Ready To Fly

My suitcase was packed. I’d checked in for my flight the evening before. All important papers were ready, and all arrangements had been planned meticulously. 

I did face a few challenges, however. I had come down with a cold days before the trip. In addition, I was exhausted, spent from month after month of a working long hours at a grueling and thankless job. I had just received a grim report from a doctor. My physical reserves were completely used up. The stress of the job and a consistent schedule of too little sleep had pushed me to the point of kidney failure. If anyone needed a vacation, it was me.

So off to the airport I went. The was a bit of traffic, but I arrived in plenty of time. Luckily, baggage check-in was quick and the security lines were manageable. 

I bought snacks and water at the airport, nuts and trail mix, and had a coffee that wasn’t horrible by JFK standards. 

During one of my pre-flight bathroom breaks, a woman came into the men’s room. She announced her entrance in a european accent. “I am coming in,” she said calmly. “Yes, a woman.” Perhaps the lines were too long at the ladies’ room.

Shortly thereafter, I boarded a 747, the first one that I had flown in many years. I watched the Pixar movie “Coco,” which I enjoy very much before settling in for as much sleep as I could manage.