Filed under: Events, My Day, Random Thoughts, travel | Tags: air, burrs, cancun, cities, continental, exciting, execution, flying, issues, lady, machinery, mexico, ooze, plane, social justice, sore, stewardess, sure, traveling, vacation, vehicles
On The Plane, before takeoff
The window is about the size of my head. Fluffy yellow pom pom hair included.
We’re moving. Backward wheels slide smoothly; a greased glide across pavement. As I write, I’m watching.
I called window-seat, naturally.
Now we’ve stopped. A Continental sountrack is playing, but kids are cooing and questioning, and the volume is low. The lights are weirding out, and I’m wondering if the lady is saying anything important.
The air hisses around us and I’m smelling a strange rubbery scent.
We’re turning now. We have two little kids right behind us. The oldest one is probably about three.
It’s exciting, this slow and sure execution of machinery. Soon we’ll be in the air and headed to Cancun.
I can hear the rush of wind, the loud hum of the engine. I’m right behind the right wing; I can see it tipping, can see the pale grey sky outside our window. The little boxy cargo trucks remind me of toys.
“We’re not going upside down,” the young mother behind me says, a smile in her voice. I know the little baby, just one (I think), is called Amelia.
We’re on the runway now.
“Gotta watch out the window,” the mother says. I am, for the moment.
The sun’s fickle rays dapple the wing: the most beautiful blue graces the top half of my porthole-window like watercolor. We’re above the clouds now. I’m in the sky. The fields, forests, rolling land below are all clouds, so textured from this distance.
It’s astonishing and fantastic to see from above, but I can’t help but wonder, What have we done?
Boxes of crops and man-hedged forests lie regimented across this place. Every so often, chiseled out roads lead to huge glittering, festering cities that ooze trickles of vehicles like a sore.
It sucks out my happy, a little, to see it. I guess I can just imagine that in each of those cities there are the angry, the poor, the starving. In all of them.
But enough about social justice issues. Mom has my headphones and is going to watch The Blind Side. Hopefully they’ll give us snacks soon. Or, as the Burr-os call ’em, “treats.”
I’ll probably just sit here and stare out the window some more.
Over & out. Haha.
9:25
est. (TOA): 3 hrs. & 17 min.
Kick Drum Heart 