November 12
I dropped my grandmother off up at Bradley this morning for a 10:30 flight that didn't end up leaving until 12:30. I sat with her in the terminal after giving her bag over to the powers that be. She seemed pretty happy and not freaked out the way she was yesterday morning when I spoke with her. You see, Angelo has been acting strangely. Refusing to take off his clothes, sleeping in his hat and shoes, and he was very very swollen. So badly so that they were afraid his kidneys were shutting down and that he was going to have to be taken to the hospital. I spent much of yesterday in a blind panic, wavering between "If it's time for him to go, then please let it be quick" and "I'm not ready to deal with this, even though I know I need to be". In the end, it turned out that he was still ok, or as ok as he can ever be. When I kissed my Grandmother goodbye at the security check point this morning, I had to hurry off because I was getting weepy and I sit here and write this, I'm sad that she's away. Isn't that crazy? I'm 34 years old and I miss my Gramma.
It's strange not to have her here. I hope she has a great visit, though and after this she's not allowed to go away again anywhere with anyone other than me.
I bought a movie off of Amazon about a month ago and just now got around to watching it. It's called The High and Mighty and it's about an airplane (see, my day had a theme!) It was awesome and hokey and made me wish for the days of travel where people got all dolled up to get on a plane. The stewardess somehow managed to memorize all of the passenger's names, the pilot (a surprisingly good looking Robert Stack, whom I can not hear speak without thinking "I want you to give this scumbag a cavity search! I'm talking Roto-Rooter! Don't stop until you reach the back of his teeth!") and the co-pilot (John Wayne who walks with a pronounced limp in some scenes and no limp at all in others). Anyhow, years ago, John Wayne accidentally crashed a jet filled with people into a mountain and he somehow managed to walk out, but the crash (shown in awesome flaming pieces) killed his wife and kid and for a reason unknown to me, he's still flying, but as a co-pilot. I guess it's supposed to tell me something about how he's suffering inside constantly but I was really in it to see what was going to happen to the plane right now.
There's a child on board who sleeps for so long and so soundly, I began to seriously wonder if he had died. They moved him around, for chrissake! They picked him up and smooched him and ruffled his hair! Also, everyone but everyone smokes. There's a scene where John Wayne takes a break from wrestling the steering wheel around to light up in the little break room behind the cockpit. He TOSSES THE LIT CIGARETTE ON THE FLOOR when he's done and does not mash it out. There's a couple who are coming home from their honeymoon making out FRANTICALLY which seemed sort of out of place. There's gunfire, weeping, fighting and boozing. Man, I wish I'd been alive to fly back in the day.
Anyhoo, there's all kind of melodramatic and hammy action on board but the gist of the whole thing is that they somehow lost an engine just past the point of no return between Hawaii and San Francisco and they're planning on ditching. Now, since you all know about my creepy plane crash obsession, you will recall that my number one favorite thing is seeing a ditched plane floating in the water. It hurts so good, man. HURTS SO GOOD. But, seeing as how it's a John Wayne movie and there's a plane full of good and not so good people, you know that even though they spend a full hour preparing for it, throwing their luggage out the hatch, inflating their vests and I'm getting more and more psyched thinking that there's going to be a creepy ditch scene with everyone bobbing around on the giant raft, but NO. After The Duke smacks Robert Stack (twice!), Robert comes to his senses and decides to do it the way El Duko has suggested and they land safely in SF. No ditch, no crash. WTF, John Wayne, WTF???
the other day - email - home - soon