Back Pain and Travel
I received the email exactly one minute before the woman at the counter broke the bad news:
"The plane that we'll be taking is still on the ground in Buffalo."
The guy seated beside me actually groaned.
"Every damn time I take this flight they delay it," he said.
We were scheduled to leave in a timely manner. Enough time for me to actually make it home in time to see the 27-Time World Champion New York Yankees strive for number 28. Now I'd be listening to the start of the game on my phone...in a hard seat...next to an angry, heavyset man who suddenly wanted to talk.
"The thing that gets me is that they never say their sorry," I said.
"Cause they ain't," he answered. "They don't care."
Despite the groans at the announcement everyone at the gate went back to their phones, their paperbacks and their silent rage.
"I gotta' move around," I said. "My back is in knots."
I tried stretching a little, wondering if I had enough phone juice to listen to the Yankee game through my headphones.
How I wish that I had stretched a little longer!
Five hours after I was supposed to be home I pulled into the driveway at my home.
The place was dark.
I needed to sleep fast because the next work day was staring me in the face.
My first step out of the car told me that the knot in my back was a real problem, but I didn't do anything about it except go to bed.
I cursed the airlines some more.
There were about 100 of us on that plane.
We all had things planned.
All of our plans changed for a reason we had to accept.
Ah well, we live in a day and age where we can fly freely across the country. A bit of inconvenience is expected.
I fell asleep.
And when I woke the next morning, the back pain was beyond comprehension.
Now when I say this, you must understand that it's not my usual whine about my health.
"I shouldn't be going," I said to Melky who was watching me try to get dressed.
But she was ready for her ride to get the paper.
That's the thing about all of it. There are still things to do, people to see, work to manage, dogs to take bye-bye.
Stumbling through my day is less painful than listening to myself wonder how the world is existing without me if I were to call in lame.
"You should be at the emergency room," my client told me upon seeing me later in the week.
I went to a job site instead.
"Why?" a co-worker asked.
"The one place where I felt the best today was on the site," I answered.
"You're mentally ill," he responded.
He waited a moment.
"But that's pretty well established isn't it?"
I suppose.
Damn airlines.
At least the Yankees won.
"The plane that we'll be taking is still on the ground in Buffalo."
The guy seated beside me actually groaned.
"Every damn time I take this flight they delay it," he said.
We were scheduled to leave in a timely manner. Enough time for me to actually make it home in time to see the 27-Time World Champion New York Yankees strive for number 28. Now I'd be listening to the start of the game on my phone...in a hard seat...next to an angry, heavyset man who suddenly wanted to talk.
"The thing that gets me is that they never say their sorry," I said.
"Cause they ain't," he answered. "They don't care."
Despite the groans at the announcement everyone at the gate went back to their phones, their paperbacks and their silent rage.
"I gotta' move around," I said. "My back is in knots."
I tried stretching a little, wondering if I had enough phone juice to listen to the Yankee game through my headphones.
How I wish that I had stretched a little longer!
Five hours after I was supposed to be home I pulled into the driveway at my home.
The place was dark.
I needed to sleep fast because the next work day was staring me in the face.
My first step out of the car told me that the knot in my back was a real problem, but I didn't do anything about it except go to bed.
I cursed the airlines some more.
There were about 100 of us on that plane.
We all had things planned.
All of our plans changed for a reason we had to accept.
Ah well, we live in a day and age where we can fly freely across the country. A bit of inconvenience is expected.
I fell asleep.
And when I woke the next morning, the back pain was beyond comprehension.
Now when I say this, you must understand that it's not my usual whine about my health.
"I shouldn't be going," I said to Melky who was watching me try to get dressed.
But she was ready for her ride to get the paper.
That's the thing about all of it. There are still things to do, people to see, work to manage, dogs to take bye-bye.
Stumbling through my day is less painful than listening to myself wonder how the world is existing without me if I were to call in lame.
"You should be at the emergency room," my client told me upon seeing me later in the week.
I went to a job site instead.
"Why?" a co-worker asked.
"The one place where I felt the best today was on the site," I answered.
"You're mentally ill," he responded.
He waited a moment.
"But that's pretty well established isn't it?"
I suppose.
Damn airlines.
At least the Yankees won.
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