100 Words – Week 319
2013
Laying in a hotel bed in Philadelphia. My connecting flight was cancelled, along with 11 other flights (at my last count of the departures board) for “field problems” which could be air traffic and/or weather. No specific details were offered. Which, apparently, is common for the Philadelphia airport according to Yelp users.
What’s also common to the Philadelphia airport, and/or U.S. Airways, is rudeness. Rude employees, rude passengers. Seriously, they drink the mean juice. But the pilots, at least the two I witnessed, were out-of-their-way polite. So that’s something.
Live and learn.
I didn’t have much choice, given the short notice, of where I flew out of, or who with, but I’ll walk to/from Philly before I’ll ever fly out of there again. And U.S. Airways? Loved your pilots, but the rest of your staff need to attend This-is-How-You-Treat-Human-Beings Boot Camp. And until I see their diplomas hanging from a lanyard around their necks I won’t be flying with you again.
End rant.
I’m just tired and homesick and sad about rudeness after rudeness while travelling to mourn the loss of someone so beautifully kind.
Kindness is free, so give it freely. Really, everything tastes better with kindness.
The highlight of my trip was discovering a used bookstore in the Raleigh airport. I bought a sci-fi novel by Tad Williams, the second in the Otherland series which I started when I was 16 and never got back to. The word from that book is:
Surviving
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Purplemoose Gazette » Surviving
[...] Velvet Verbosity’s 100 Word Challenge this week is SURVIVING. The above are my 100. [...]
This does indeed sound like a very sad and frustrating trip. I hope you are soon home in the comfort of your own space. Nothing is more offensive to me than rudeness by people in service professions. I want to mark them with an x in permanent paint as a badge of shame. Sadly, they would probably never understand what they did or didn’t do that was wrong. Management needs to pay attention to details, kindness is important, and it isn’t any harder to be nice!
Josie Two Shoes recently posted..F is for FECKLESS
I can’t wait to be home!
Oh this screams for a zombie drabble.
David Blackstone (@DavidWriting) recently posted..Fantasy Drabble #307 “Unrestrained”
Ya think?
probably didn’t even pay for the hotel, did they? I am sorry this is happening, VV. I hope you were able to find some closure in your loss.
thinking of you.
barbara recently posted..Surviving
Thank you dear Barbara. No, they only gave a discount on the hotel. I have now learned that the Philly airport is notorious for delays and cancellations – rumor is poor traffic control and bad weather.
Doesn’t sound like the best trip but I hope you were able to get something out of the travel.
It’s been a long time since I’ve done the challenge, but I seem to have thought about it almost every week since, and finally I’m trying it again.
Thanks for this wonderful opportunity you give writers to challenge themselves and connect with others.
Chloe recently posted..Just Waiting.
More than happy, and always tickled to see the someone return! Glad you’ve come to your senses.
Sorry you had such a horrible experience.
Wishing you some quiet and peace for your soul.
Kat recently posted..Unending Permanence
Thanks Kat. So nice to have support.
I fly so very seldom, I can’t say I’ve ever had a bad experience. Sorry to hear about your crapstorm.
Tara R. recently posted..Harbinger
This was by far my worst flying experience. Except for that time it felt like someone was driving a hot spike through my eardrums.
I get earache so bad on planes that one time I was actually convinced my brain was going to ‘explode’ and I’d start bleeding through my ears.
Once you get that thought it’s hard to stop feeling like your ears are bleeding. I hate flying alone now.
Chloe recently posted..Just Waiting.