Flying to Costa Rica 30May22

05/30/22 10:05 30,000 feet above the Atlantic

The sunlight is pouring through the open window.  I can pull the shade, but don’t want to.  I like looking outside, even if it is the endless ocean.  The sky is clear.  There has been minimal turbulence, dare I say none.  I was a nervous flyer.  That was before starting this long-distance relationship.  Last night, I stayed at the Fairfield Inn at JFK.  I was thinking about all the flights I made to Mexico City and Costa Rica over the past four years to visit Meli.  I flew Jet Blue, Aero Mexico which is a class act, blankets on each seat and a nice shot of spirits before landing.  They even serve a hot delicious meal and alcohol which is part of the fare.  I also flew Inter-Jet which I don’t believe exists any longer, they were cheap.  I think I bought a sandwich on their flight.  The service was minimal, flickering lights in the cabin and I thought just maybe it’s not the safest airline.  So, I stay at this same airport for these trips to CR.  It’s what I do when I depart from JFK in the morning and Jet Blue only offers these flights a few days out of the week.  But this last hotel booking was expensive, almost $250 with tax for the room…for the night?  Seems steep, but it’s supply and demand since today is Memorial Day and the first of summer for many American travelers.  I waited for the 6 AM shuttle to the airport, met an older gentleman who asked where was I going?  JFK, I answered, no, your final destination?  Oh, Costa Rica.  I’m flying down to Costa Rica to visit Meli.  Not that I mentioned my wife’s name.  He doesn’t need to know her name. 

Meli moved back there this past September, and I feel this is the third trip I made to see her there.  Once in November and flew down on New Year’s Eve and back to New York on the 9^th of January.  Haven’t been back since.  I wish she was here with me.  I wish we lived together and the good new is, we are getting closer to when the visa is approved.  There’s still a few pending steps.  My paperwork and the interview date still needs to ne arranged.  She will need to see a doctor sponsored by the embassy ten days before the interview.  On July 27^th will be two years since I submitted the spousal visa paperwork.  I heard it took that long, but somehow, I didn’t believe it.  I was fooling myself, not believing the facts, no.  Not me.  It won’t be that long.  No way.  It’s becoming that long.

The media and the pundits should know the average duration to immigrate legally into the US.  Yes, the previous administration had an impact, but this was for certain countries.  I’d like to think.  Yes, COVID did have an impact, and I believe still has an impact.  Yes, I should have hired an immigration attorney, instead of going the cheap route with Catholic Charities, but what difference would it have made?  You complete paperwork and submit and wait.  The last review, they needed additional paperwork from me for proof of my divorce and tax forms for transferring a portion of my 401K to Ali.  Meli’s paperwork is approved.  I was certain she’d be flagged.  So that put us back a couple of months and it’s where we are at.  Waiting to see if my paperwork was accepted and from there, our case is transferred to the embassy in Costa Rica.  If Meli still lived in Mexico or the Philippines, the process will be longer since there is such a backlog in those countries. 

There is a little girl in the seat in front of me and she’s stretching her hand back onto my tray.  Time for wine!

 

Thank you for reading this.

Thoughts in the afternoon

12/19/19 East Northport, NY 14:55

Mom is resting on the love seat in the den.  Mom had a lot of energy this morning and she wanted to chat with me, but I was working.  I am in my own world, it is the same – especially the day before a trip. There were a couple of errands which I did and I am back in the room, feeling somewhat anxious.  I am not present.  Dad will drive me to the train station and I will be off to Queens to spend a few hours in the Courtyard across from JFK.  Paying a lot of money for those few hours.  Tomorrow morning, I will be up very early, maybe 3:30.  Yes, at that time since my flight is leaving at 6:13 in the morning.  Yesterday I was thinking, why the heck did I book a flight so early?  Because Meli is getting into San Jose tomorrow and we will take a bus from the airport to her town.  Why couldn’t I have flown out on Saturday?  I looked at the flights and they were more expensive.  I want to spend as much time as possible with her.  The timer has gone off and mom will wake up from her nap.  She is fragile.  Before I leave, I will do a double check to confirm I have everything.  Passport, check.  Divorce paperwork?  Check.  I can’t wait to be with Meli.  This will be a long trip for us, over two weeks.  Thank God. Last night, I had dinner with Emma Tess and Matt.  At first we were at Chili’s. I sat down.  My ring finger on my left hand felt numb. It was pale and discolored.  I thought it was a blood clot, and was worried I may have to cancel the trip.  Not the case, it was something minor, Raynaud phenomenon.  Paid $50 for the clinic and we went to California Pizza for dinner. I bought a Christmas card for Em and will send her money tomorrow, after I get paid.  I’ll leave here in an hour or so.  It’s funny, earlier dad asked what time I was leaving and I said, 5 PM.  “There’s not a train at 5.”  I looked it up, Dad checked his paper schedule, “It leaves at 4:53.” I was close.  The man is very rigid and I realized both of my parents are control freaks, but I love them.  Love them.  Really do.

Thank you for reading this.   

While Flying Back from Mexico City on Sunday Night

11/24/19 19:14 34,941 feet above the Gulf of Mexico

Meli and I fell asleep early last night.  She said it was before 2200 but I would like to think we made it to the 2200 hour.  We hung out with a couple of her friends from work as well as her roommate Dani.  We saw a light show in the city.  It was in an open space, people were either laying on their backs on the floor or if they were lucky they had a lounge chair.  It was promoted to be an hour, but it was only a half hour. Ethereal music pulsed, lights appeared like moons and space ships. Mirrors reflected columns of golden light like tunnels that either fell on some of us.  A few kids chased after the tunnels and smiled as if warmed by the light.  After that dinner and drinks.  Meli and I had a veggie meal.  I had two mojetos and Meli ordered one.  I finished half of hers which may be the reason for the early night.  The light weight that I am.  Hitting some turbulence and I know like a breath it will dissipate and it does as I type.  I am in a strange mood, missing Meli already and dealing with an email that was disturbing.  But like the turbulence and the breath, I need to settle down my thoughts.  Meli was great, very supportive.  She made a delicious lunch today, fish and vegetables.  We said grace before eating, same as this morning over pancakes and coffee.  And now I am heading back to New York.  Tomorrow is going to be an early day workday. I am not prepared as much as I should be.  

Thank you for reading this.

Jet Blue takes me back to Mexico City

11/21/19 15:13 Flying over the Gulf of Mexico

Thank you turbulence, although you are slight, but now that I am writing you’re kicking in.  Mother fucker.  It will pass and I tell myself this when we hit some pockets.  A gay couple next to me on the flight to Mexico, held hands on the take off and I wanted to get my hands in there, but they don’t know who I am, so I sat alone, next to the window.  All of a sudden we are bouncing.  It has been smooth for the last hour and a half and now over the deep waters in the Gulf.  It’s not too deep.  I remember feeling like I could walk through the shallow bay all the way to Mexico from Florida, and we are leveling out for a moment or two but not.  Where’s the map?  The tirade from the gringo tourist who had too much white wine, but it was delicious and with the cheese platter and crackers, joy in the skies let me tell you sisters and brothers.  I can see water.  The sky is clear and as long as I can see through the clouds and see land, I am alright.  I am OK. The flight is landing more than a half hour early and I know my love will not be able to meet when I get kicked out of Mexican immigration.  Get the fuck into our country.  There’s a form I need to complete before we arrive.  I have completed this form a few times.  In an hour or two we will land and in four hours.  I hope I have a pen to complete this form, and if I don’t I will complete it in Mexico City.

Thank you for reading this.

Flying over the Gulf of Mexico (Flight 921 JetBlue 5/30/19)

I can taste her breath in my mouth

It’s dry as dust and seeks to sleep

We’re flying above the Gulf of Mexico, stirring above clouds

She does not speak English and I barely know her Aztec language

I am reminded where I am when the jet shivers in summer gusts above the earth

Like a jolt of eternity

I will make love in another country

In a hot room, in the daylight

I’m zooming in with so much speed

Even the clouds appeal for stillness

Flying back from San Diego in the night and I can see lightning in the distance!

6/22/14 23:00

Taking the red eye back from San Diego was supposed to be fairly easy.  On the way to the airport I saw a flight attendant and asked her, what’s it like there?  She thought I meant Dallas, where she comes from.  No, I meant, what’s it like 35,000 feet above this glorious country of ours.  She looked at me like I had two heads.  I have to admit, the in-flight turbulence is not making my flying experiences any better.  I know what you’re thinking (it’s safe up there) but let me explain what happened.  In this blog I wrote about flying back from Tampa a few years ago when I made a connection.  The flight had so much turbulence, the pilot asked the flight attendants to stay seated for their safety.  That flight wrecked my nerves so since then, I have not been the smooth operator, passenger.  Let me share this.  I was in San Diego for a trade show. One of my colleagues tells me when she flew to New York the President was landing at JFK and all the incoming traffic was diverted up North and while they were diverted the jet hit some serious turbulence and they dropped, you know (she tells me) like when you drop in an elevator and your stomach heaves up?  You know?  I felt like sticking my fingers in my ears and telling her, “I don’t hear you….I can’t hear you…you can’t make me listen…”  shit…stop.  Then a client tells me, “Once I flew back to Philly and all the way over, it was so, smooth… smooth as it can be…that was till we hit the tri-state area and bam! A hail storm, the plane in front of us was hit so hard by hail a panel in their windshield cracked open.  Imagine that?”  No. I don’t imagine that or want to.  Then he tells me, he’s flying back the day after me and the area is supposed to be hit with thunder storms.  So, what do I do?  I check the weather.  New York is supposed to get hit with a storm on Friday – I land on Thursday morning.   I’m safe.  Right? I check in and take my seat and chat to the guy next to me who also exhibited at the same conference.  Yeah, great….then I hear the metallic voice crack over head from the speaker, I felt like telling the guy next to me to shut up. The captain is speaking… the one voice who I really want to hear who will tell us what we can expect on this passage through the skies.  “This is the red eye as some travelers call this flight, so I expect most of you will be resting for most of the flight. “  I thought, you’re not going to sleep?  Right captain?  You can't sleep, so what's keeping you awake? “We expect a smooth flight till we get close to Chicago which might give us some bumps, and I might make an announcement to fasten the seat-belts.”  What do you mean, I might?  That was all I needed to hear.  I knew it meant we are going to hit rough weather. I calculated two hours into the flight which should put us over ORD.  It will be 03:00 in New York and I hoped I was sleeping.  I was jacked up with nerves.  Dear friends, let me tell you what happened.  There was no sleep.  My slimy and greasy nose was pressed against the cool plastic window.  Sweat dripped down my back.  My legs shook as we approached…Chicago.  I kid you not.  This is what I saw.  Thick, chaotic and violent bolts of lightning burst from huge dark clouds.  I said a prayer as we began to rock and roll and shake and slide.  That was a storm.  That was more than just bumps you lying captain.  I was pissed.  You cannot fool me.  So I get up.  I am too nervous to sit and I am panicking.  I walk back to the jet and ask the attendant who was sitting there…I ask for water.  The bottles are small and I downed it.  Can I have another?  I confided to the woman who was playing a game on her computer before I came and disturbed her and who - may I add- was oblivious to the turbulence or the storm.  Like a small child, I whined to her.  I did.  I admit it.  “There’s lightening - out there.”  Really?  Well, it’s not dangerous to fly in it.  I think.  That’s what she says to me.  It hurt my nerves when she said, I think. It meant she did not know.  The water I drank quickly became sweat on my back and I walked down the aisle and used the bathroom on the other end.  The flight attendant, an African American male who announced earlier before take-off what we need to do in case of an emergency looked like he was nervous.  There, I told you.  This shit is real.  Right?  No, he plays it off.  “We’re on schedule and will be in New York in an hour and a half.”  I take my seat with my trembling legs and look outside at the darkness.  Above the clouds, the stars are present in their places in heaven.  We fly on.  Eventually, like some bad times in our lives – we get passed the storms and past the distractions and the nerves are drained and we learn how to cope.  Breathe.  I seep into a sleep… till the shakes woke me again.

 Thank you for reading this.