Continuing Acts of Kindness..

I just got off the plane from Arizona – I had never been…not sure I will go back – but also maybe I was just in the wrong part – I was not sure if New Jersey ( sorry NJ) had had a horrific fire or was bombed or I was just in a really weird part of AZ. Anyway – that was really an aside to my story but somehow a relevant piece to it all because it sort of gave the scenic background to my movie.

I do not travel much. In fact I live in such a lovely part of the country where the weather is pretty lovely because I love the seasons – love the snow, love the rain, love the sun and love the trees and mountains etc…so why would I want to leave?? But I did – my friends invited me to come for a visit. And so I did..A friend was going to travel with me and that felt more comfortable and safe. And then she called literally minutes before my ride was about to pick me up to take me to the airport. My bags were packed, I had packed my dogs suitcase for the dog sitter, ( yup I am one of those dog owners..who would pay 60 bucks a night to have someone take care of my babies instead of putting them in a kennel – I am grateful I can afford it and I am a responsible pet parent.) She said her mom was ill and she could not come. Panic flooded my brain and my body – Oh my God!! I can’t go by myself! How will I handle it? What if I sit next to someone who smells like chemicals? Or who will not leave me alone? or What if I get lost in the airport? Or forget my ticket? Or lose my way? What if we are hijacked or blown up and I end up alone floating in the ocean with nobody to be there with me ? Or lose my mind?? Yes those were all real thoughts . All of that went on for about 20 seconds – and then I said to myself.or somebody said to me.” You are just gonna do it – DO NOT THINK ABOUT IT _ JUST DO IT!!” What a concept – .. I really was divinely driven – I called upon my angels and I asked them to come with me – I got in my sister in laws car – and we drove to the bus – I had my ticket printed  I rode to the bus – I got to Boston – I dragged all of my stuff down hallways and ramps and elevators and finally got to the lobby of the hotel – AS AN ASIDE  WOW!!! I booked a room online for $195.00 ( my plane was leaving at 7 AM ) the lady at the front desk could care less about me – my life- my enjoyment- my safety- my pleasure- my comfort. ” I am sorry” she said, with about as much interest in anything that was happening in her life or mine  as a employee who had no skin in the game… ” We do not have a reservation for you” – cutting to the chase – “Do you have a room available?” I asked. “Yes, but we do not have your reservation.” ” Okay well, look I am tired and I just would like a room.” The dialogue went on – I will not bore you with the details but she had the empathy of a drain hole. She said ” Yes we have a room for $285.00″. ” No I would like the one for $195.00″ You get the rest of the dialogue – I persisted and got my room for $195.00 – and went to the room – No bell hop, I had to pay for internet, no room service, no mini bar, I had to pay for TV – It was such a commentary on consumerism – I asked out loud..” Do people actually put up with this shit??” What happened to the time when Hotels were actual places of welcome and accommodation – Where the business actually treated you like they were grateful for yours!? People just put up with it – They know they gotcha – Okay so this is all no news to you all maybe – but someone who lives in a small town in New England and is used to mom and pop shops and being treated like a human and a welcome patron and I treat them with respect and am grateful that they take pride in their service. I know the name of my plow guy, and the garbage guy and the postman, I care about them..I am in business as well – in the town I live in – and I give the same back. SO to come to the city of Hilton’s and be treated like I am damn lucky they have put this hotel here and they are going to squeeze me for every dime because they can and they know I have no choice – cause every hotel is doing the same thing so do not bother to look for something better as it DOES NOT EXIST at the airport –

So then I get on the plane – I had been upgraded – I had a whole aisle to myself! HUH?? I thought – ” I have been upgraded!!??” Who did that? Why did they do that?? HMM my answer? ” They want to get my business, they’ll make up for it on the next leg…” Next leg- I was in the middle seat – and I could not move – my back ached, my legs were cramped, I was exhausted and kept nodding – my neck snapping each time – ..

So I deplaned at my destination – Beautiful Arizona..? I felt like I was in the middle of a futuristic movie scene – where the world had been nuked but there were lots of survivors – shopping malls. Wow – but the reason for my story is this :

Why would anyone live here? Cause its cheap and there is no weather other than hot and dry or not so hot and dry – but where is the soul? Is this where the soulless people come? It seemed like it – the sky was blue first thing in the AM and then the chemtrails would be drawn across the sky and the clouds would come and hold in all of the toxins from the chemicals and then the air would sometimes clear – ….and sometimes not- People moved in robotic comatic predictable strides – or stumbles – I really felt that I was surrounded by aliens – I was near area 51 I think…HMM –

But then I returned on my flight back to Boston – I paid $67 extra for a window seat. I then paid an extra $20 for pre check – which means I could possibly be a terrorist and if I paid the $20 I could get through without a lot of pesky screening..- I got on the plane and a woman sat next to me in a middle seat and at the aisle seat was a woman who looked and sounded like she was from Germany – but come to find out – she was from Iran. But the woman I was sitting next to – well I am not sure how to describe it but have you ever felt that you were somehow divinely placed in a circumstance – where you are not really sure why – and it is not all that eventful but something about the meeting left you feeling oddly touched by the experience? Her name was Margueirite – She was just a year older than me – but had the beauty of a child and the experience of many lives – She was round and soft and wore a simple dress – She lived in Florida and had just been out to visit her daughter and grandchildren – one who she was meeting for the first time – She was a simple but very wise woman – She was originally from Jamaica and she could not wait to return back to Jamaica so she could grow here own vegetables – ……………….. and afford to live after retirement – She was a powerful woman – I was glad to meet her on her good side – Because she had learned to protect her cubs and her self – She told me her story – Her brother had been shot because he was black – in Chicago. She left her abusive husband when she was 8 months pregnant with her two other children -moved to the US  and raised them by herself. She and I were kindred souls – We both had twin brothers – we shared so many odd beliefs that not many would be able to connect with – we laughed as if we were sisters – we were instantly – although so different in every way – so much alike – and so deeply connected on a soul level – We exchanged emails and went our separate ways…Had  I been visited by an angel? – I really felt I had- But I was left with a profound feeling that I cannot describe – nor give any answer to – somehow it just was more than a chance meeting – and somehow profound but for reasons I am yet to know…One thing I knew..all of the anxiety I had getting on the plane was absorbed by this woman.

On the second leg I was crammed against a window at the bulkhead with no place to put my bags so I had to stow them away – so no comforts with me and I was seated next to a man who was quite large, and handicapped – Paralyzed from the waste down and his hands were paralyzed…So I had to climb over him – embarrassing ..for him and me..I paid $67!! EXTRA For this?? He was very talkative and I was very exhausted – I tried really hard to listen – He told me that he was paralyzed by an enemy bullet- while over in Vietnam – His cap said Special Armed Forces – …He said he wished the bullet had finished him off – he had no life – He had a lot to say to anyone who would listen – I have a feeling – he had said this all before – He could not stop talking about it – searching for someone who would care – someone who would somehow hear what he was saying and somehow would have a magic wand that would make it all a crazy dream and they would wave it and the nightmare would end and his life would be what it was before…or better – or just not what it was now…I listened – I tried like hell to keep listening – He asked me some pretty uncomfortable questions – Not because he was creepy or meant to be inappropriate but he just was once an innocent kid from New Jersey who was drafted into the Vietnam War and his life took off in a very different direction than he would ever imagine – and now he sat crippled and just an older and much changed version of that kid –  in the middle seat of coach unable to move – stuck in between two people who really could not help his pain -I listened for as long as I could but when his questions – innocent to him – but uncomfortable for me – a little too personal – became too much for me to be able to kindly avoid – I told him I needed to sleep. I put my head against the window and dozed. Part way through the flight – he asked the stewardess if there were any aisle seats that he could move to because he was in so much pain – She asked around – a man who had an aisle seat – gave his up – I and the stewardess lifted this man’s limp body up from his seat and the man who gave up his aisle seat – carried him to his aisle seat and then sat down next to me. While he was helping this man  he whispered in his ear. ” You guys used to drop me off  and pick me up”…They hugged – Tears streamed down my face – I did not know what he had whispered but I knew they had a connection that no one else could possibly have understood unless experienced themselves.

He sat next to me and I said – ” Thank you for doing that” I meant it completely because of his willingness to sacrifice his comfort and be kind to another, especially someone who needed extra kindness. He said” Those guys have saved my ass more than a few times. It is the least I can do.” I asked him what he meant by that – He just sort of nodded and said – ” Let’s just say “Those guys saved my ass – more than a few times” as he kept nodding…I left it alone for a while – and we started chatting again – and of course my curiosity kept me wondering – He told me he was in service – he worked for 2 presidents- he had lead many lives and he had done some things that he was not proud of – He had broken more than one commandment – and now he was doing what he could to somehow make up for that part of his life – He wanted to give back so he could sleep better at night – He was a humble man – he was a strong man- he was a handsome man – he looked every bit the part of the character I had imaged in my mind of who he had once been..He looked like a James Bond – but his past was palpable – his brokenness was palpable – But his genuineness and his connection to his grief and to his God was palpable – I wanted to know more but I had to leave that to my imagination -he did not share more although I could tell he wanted to.

I could not get the story that I had witnessed in that short 7 hour plane ride out of my mind – Somehow it all meant something to me – I felt like I had been visited by angels . I had wondered what the purpose of my trip was – Meeting Marguerite and these two men – and a man who helped me with my overhead retrieval of my bags – as I had wondered where they had gone and how I would be able to find them – and he so kindly assured me they were safe – somehow knowing I needed that assurance without my asking – I am not sure I will ever know for sure what this trip was all about  It was really surreal feeling – Not what one would plan as a vacation – and I will only reply to people when asked “How was your vacation?” ” Just fine, Thanks”  – But I know that it changed me -I know that my narrow view that had been formed by living in my safe little haven only cracked by watching the news of things that seemed so scary and unreal out there in the world- were changed a bit by experiencing first hand people who were kind and empathic and strong and not horrible and selfless and unkind -and all on the plane ride – The “vacation” part was I guess just the “waiting room” to the rest of the experience –   Maybe it was just to show me that my angels really do exist and were with me in living color…

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