Beat It

If you're from Oregon, as I am, driving in downtown Los Angeles can be tiring,to say the least. By the time we made it out of the Staples Center area and back towards Los Angeles International Airport, we were exhausted. After the long hours, little sleep and sheer emotion of the past two days, we were ready to crash. It was with this in mind that we made the decision to check in for our return flight home early, rather than try to 'find something else to do' in LA. As it so happens I was, also, getting a bit cranky (sorry Megan). So, we found the rental car drop off, I ran over a HUGE pot hole (again, sorry Megan), we dropped off said car and headed to the airport.

As we sat in a bar/restaurant in the Los Angeles airport, it was intensely surreal to see the wall to wall CNN coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial depicted on nearly every television screen. To think that we had just been a part of such a historical moment was unreal...in fact, it was nearly shocking. One by one waiters and waitresses walked by, each stopping at a nearby television to take in bits and pieces of the memorial service. Megan and I stared at each other, both exhausted, both overwhelmed in desperate need for food and some time to process the days events.

Thinking that we were going to make it home without a problem, we made our way to the boarding area to wait for our flight. I had forgotten my laptop charger and my phone charger at home in the frenzied packing a day earlier so I used this time to turn on my phone and return some of my many missed calls. It was interesting to look around the boarding area and see several people sporting the same gold wristband that we were. A sort of badge of honor. I would see these people and exchange knowing looks. It would be very interesting to find out how far people came from to experience this once in a lifetime event.

A short time before our 6pm departure, I decided to look at the standby list for our direct flight to Portland. To my dismay, a large group of paying passengers had checked in early for their flight and had asked to be put on the same waiting list we were on. In short, we weren't getting home on that flight. So, I made a quick decision, Megan and I rebooked for a flight to Seattle
leaving in 15 minutes. The logic was to get as close to home as possible as quickly as possible. The flight loads from Seattle to Portland looked a little tough, but, I figured we'd be alright. So we boarded the flight to Seattle.

******

A short step ahead in time, we have landed in Seattle where I am staring down the gate agent who is waiting untill the very last minute to clear the standby list. This is the same gate agent who told me that I should consider renting a car to drive home because the two Portland flights are overbooked. We are waiting for her to clear the standby list so she can assign us seats. I am
anxious, I am tired, I am increasingly frustrated.

When we landed in Seattle, we were told that a cancelled flight from San Jose to Portland had been redirected to Seattle, greatly affecting our chances of flying standby home. We rushed to the gate to make sense of the situation and then we waited, and waited...

As my stress levels became nearly too much for me, it was Megan that reminded me of the positive thinking that had gotten us so far. It was in that moment, I took a deep breath and accepted that everything would work out one way or the other. After I accepted this two things happened: first, my Mom called to let us know she'd gladly drive the three hours to pick us up then, our names got called for the last two seats on the second to last flight home to Portland.

As we walked to the gate to collect our tickets, a woman and a baby who were paying customers and had a higher priorty than our freshly printed tickets came running towards the gate. They were given one of our seats. Because she had to be at work the next day, I sent Megan ahead of me to Portland, instructing her to call my Mom who would pick her up when she landed. We said goodbye as quickly as possible as the agent ushered her to the soon departing flight and I ran to find the next flight to Portland, leaving in 30 minutes.

With no the battery on low on my laptop, I attempted to transfer a small amount of power to my long dead iPhone, in hopes that I'd be able to make that one last phone call to let someone know I was making it home or book a hotel for the night...whichever it turned out to be.

Twenty minutes passed and I had an odd feeling. This flight to Portland was fully booked and the standby list was extensive, I had to wonder if my name had made it on that list. It hadn't. I asked to be added to the standby list and was soon awarded the final seat on the final flight home to Portland, OR.