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wSpring Tide |
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The tandem pull of the sun and the moon
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wTuesday, September 18, 2001 |
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Ah... home.
I decided to make the attempt to fly on Sunday. USAirways resumed service on saturday at 5pm at Dulles an they said I could fly out of there. So I looked at the flight schedules, trying to find something open that wasn't using a Boeing 757.
Found a flight out of dulles at 6am, with a plane change in charlotte, so I went for it.
US Air said I should get there 3 hours ahead of time, so I arrived at Dulles at 3am. Unfortunately, US Air didn't open the ticket counter til 4:30 am. So I hung out for 90 min with some of my fellow travellers.
Verboten items to carry on included shaving kits (razors), nail files and tweezers. Saw a comb get confiscated as well. US Marshalls were overseeing the security gate, but no one searched my computer. I thought that was odd. Given how the last week has brought every nutcase out of the woodwork, I'm surprised they assumed I'm ok.
Our plane was delayed departing for one hour, waiting for others to get through the security gate. Perhaps the marshalls got more stringent.
Made my connection just fine, but all in all it was a very long day of travelling. 16 hours total from the time I left my aunt's house to the time I got home. The kitties are blissfully happy to have me home and I'm glad to be here.
posted by
Just Mary at 1:19 AM
2 comments
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wThursday, September 13, 2001 |
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When I'm stressed, I don't sleep much.
I'm not in my home state... instead, I'm in northern virginia, spitting distance from Washington DC. I can hear but not see the military planes drone against the backdrop of cicadas and tree frogs.
Its much more quiet today... but its been all so fucking surreal. When the 20,000+ dead estimates from the NY Port Authority were announced, I couldn't help but think about how that was over 1/3rd the body count of Americans in Vietnam.
I currently can't go home. Washington National (I will not call it by that ex-president's name) and Dulles are both still closed. The FAA is supposed to allow air traffic to resume today. They say Dulles might open to a few flights this afternoon, but no word on when National will open (just that its not going to be today). I'm supposed to fly out standby as well... I got a discount ticket via a cousin who's an employee. This means any full fare passenger who wants space on the plane gets on before I do.
I'm heartsick over events of the past few days. My relatives are all of the "extreme retribution" mindset. Nukes were mentioned in their discussions. And I don't even know what I think. The loss of life here makes me want to cry. And I can't see how turning around and inflicting the same or worse on another country will make things better, will quell the hatred wrought by years of US foreign policy in the middle east. I don't think we have enough "big sticks" to keep bopping the fanatics on the head, like one of those carnival games of weasels. And everytime we bop one on the head, more pop up that hate us even more.
But right now I don't even know that... I don't even know my own mind. And I'm in a house where folks are so upset, so keyed, that I can't voice my doubts or contrary opinion.
I just want to go home.
posted by
Just Mary at 7:34 AM
3 comments
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