In 2002, my husband and I flew to Orlando, Florida in February for a two week vacation. It was the first time either of us had taken a 2 week vacation. We were so excited. During our trip we were going to the Daytona 500, the Busch Car Race and the Truck Race. We had stayed in our hotel before, it is about 1 mile from the track and we can just walk back and forth to the hotel, avoiding the parking lot and brutal traffic messes.
In addition to our time in Daytona, we were also driving down to Delray Beach to see my Mom and take her to Key West for a little getaway.
We boarded the jet in Milwaukee early that morning. We had a stopover in Memphis and then on to Orlando. The trip to Memphis wasn’t eventful. Although the plane was full of NASCAR fans. When we re-boarded the plane in Memphis, it was completely full and everyone it seemed was wearing NASCAR shirts, hats and/or jackets.
As we sat on the tarmac, Jerry and I talked about the weather and how it was so much warmer in Memphis than Wisconsin was in February. We couldn’t wait to get into Orlando, we were supposed to land before lunch and had planned to meet a friend from work, at Margaritaville for a drink and a nice leisurely lunch.
We noticed that it was taking a long time for the flight crew to get underway. But we didn’t think there was anything wrong. One of the stewards announced that there was a little delay, nothing to worry about, we would be leaving as soon as the problem was fixed. So we waited, all packed in like sardines.
Another steward announced that this was going to take longer than expected, so they let us leave the plane and go back to the terminal for lunch. We each got a voucher for a free meal and a drink. We were told that the flaps on the left wing were not working. If the flaps don’t work, you will crash, so I didn’t mind they were fixing this problem.
After lunch, we all went back through security and we boarded. Again the flight was full and we were now a little more apprehensive. But the prospect of being in Florida in just a few hours was keeping my mind occupied. Then we got the announcement that we needed to get off the plane again.
Now we were getting upset. We got off the plane and they got a different jet, transferred all of the luggage and we got on the plane again.
I should mention at this point that I had a big carryon and it was heavy. My back started to hurt even before we landed in Florida and it has hurt ever since.
We had a great time at the races, we saw Jay Leno and Angie Harmon. We had great seats for the race. We were in the Winston Tower, 3 rows down from where the TV guys were. As they say in NASCAR, it was awesome. Plus we were only 3 rows from the concession stand and the rest rooms. We had a great time.
We drove to Delray the day after the 500 and then the day after that we went to Key West. It was beautiful. I loved it so much I really didn’t want to go home. As we were sighseeing in Key West, I had to ask Jerry if we could go back to the hotel, my hips and back was hurting too much for me to walk. At the time I didn’t really think much about it. But I did think it was a little weird that my now 79 year old Mom with a broken leg and walking cast, was able to walk more than me.
The vacation was winding down, we drove back to Delray and dropped off Mom and then headed to Orlando, to board the flight home. And this is when it happened.
We were sitting in the aisle with the emergency exit. jerry likes the extra leg room. This was February 2002, not far from 9/11. The steward asked if we were ok with the emergency procedures for opening the door and we said yes. Then he leaned in and said to us in a whisper ”There aren’t many passengers on this flight so there are only two stewards. If someone starts to rush us from behind, please call out.”
My eyes got as big as dinner plates. I don’t think I blinked for the entire trip. Every time someone got up to use the bathroom, my heart pounded and I thought we would have to do something. I imagined us having to tackle someone in the aisles or scream. Neither of those sounded very appealing. I was really scared.
Not only that but it appeared that this pilot was perhaps a stunt pi
lot who wanted to do something besides follow his flight plan. He banked so hard heading toward Chicago and Milwaukee, it felt like a carnival ride. And then he took a nice long swing out over Lake Michigan. The plane was almost on its side. I got a real good view of the lake. The cold, gray, snow and ice covered lake. A lake I did not want to experience any closer than this.
When we landed in Milwaukee, I got a soda and was never so happy to be in our car in my life. It was 10 degrees, we had been in Key West 48 hours ago, but I was so happy to be off of that plane I didn’t really notice.
We drove back to Madison, reminiscing along the way of the wonderful two week vacation. We picked up our girls Dallis and Austin and went home to Lodi. To our little ranch house on Airport Road. We were glad to be back and glad to have the memories of the trip.
I mentioned to Jerry that my back was hurting and I spent the next couple of days resting. I would have surgery the following year. I would also notice that after I looked back at every vacation we took in the past five years, my back prevented me from doing things. It prevented me in Indiana, I offered to watch our friend’s lawn chairs and coolers while they went shopping. They were all retired.
Looking back at that trip, it was the best vacation I could have had. My husband and my Mom, all of us together in Key West. I loved it.
Ok so the flight wasn’t that bad, I was just scared. I think everybody was scared, we still are. This isn’t the same world as it was. We all have realized that it’s not just pilot error or mechanical failure that can bring a plane down.
But we have each other and we have faith. That faith is the thing that keeps us all going and trying new things to get better. It is the faith that a blind person has, that they might someday see. The faith that I have that there will be a medical breakthrough and someday the pain will be gone.
You gotta have faith. Don’t you?
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