The end of a great day

The other day I wrote about attending the Jay Leno show in Burbank, California.  This was after flying a redeye flight from Portland, Oregon to New York, just to fly back to the west coast to Burbank the next morning.  A simple answer to the question I get asked a lot: because I wanted to find out if redeye flights are really feasible alternates to a hotel.  If you’re insane, yes they are.

After an already exhausting overnight, a baby hitting the back on my seat on the morning flight west, and an incredible experience watching the taping of the Jay Leno show, I was ready to head back to the airport and sleep on a redeye back to the east coast.

Except at about 6:30 in the evening, my phone rang.  My brother was calling to tell me there had been an explosion in San Bruno, California, my father was safe, but they thought it was an airplane that had crashed after takeoff from the nearby San Francisco International Airport.

You are never really prepared for that to happen in a community you grew up in.  And you’re never prepared to hear that kind of bad news when you’re over 350 miles away from home.  Heading the other direction 2900 miles away from home.

I was able to connect to my Slingbox at home using my iPhone and listen into the local news desperately trying to get facts about what really happened.  Unfortunately, my phone battery was dying, the car charger refused to work in the car back to the airport, and the cell reception faded in and out giving intermittent breaks in the video and audio.

This was only the third day of my trip.  I was alone, helpless to do anything except hop on another JetBlue plane and keep travelling as I had planned.

I rushed to the airport where I plugged my phone in and streamed the video, now of a dark neighborhood with a fireball still shooting high into the sky.

It was time to get through security and on the plane.  I waited until the last possible moment to board.  Between not having much sleep the night before, being worried about the people back home, and being on my third cross-country flight in just over 24 hours, I struggled up the walkway to the plane.

To say this was a low point in the trip is probably adequate.  I didn’t want to see another plane or be constrained in a middle seat for another five hours.  I sat in my seat waiting for the plane to taxi and rumble down the runway.  The cabin lights turned off, and only the television screens flashed in unison with advertisements I was starting to get used to seeing.

After a few minutes, the television next to me tuned to CNN, which was covering the inferno.  Unfortunately, I was in the first row, with both of my bags in the overhead.  My headphones were in packed away in one of the bags.

It was torture waiting for the seat belt sign to turn off.  The flight attendant was busy passing out blankets and said she would be back to help me with my bag.  I learned what being patient meant, and how hard it can be, even as an adult.

By the time I got my headphones, got them plugged in, CNN was wrapping up the coverage and went to a commercial break.  I discovered a valuable tip.  Next time, keep my headphones on me, in my pocket where I can access them.

As most of the television channels were of east coast programming, there was nothing more I could watch about the west coast.  And my cellphone was useless.

I channel surfed looking for something to watch and calm down.  I stumbled on NBC where the Tonight Show with Jay Leno was already in progress and watched the remainder of the show I had attended the taping of earlier in the day.

After the show ended, I closed my eyes and drifted off.  That redeye flight was the first time I slept on an airplane.  It was a tough ending to a great day that made me stronger in the end.

Unfortunately, a number of people died and were injured in what turned out to be a natural gas pipeline explosion.  Sadly, many don’t have homes in the Crestview neighborhood after they were incinerated with little notice.  I can never imagine what it feels like to be sitting down to dinner one moment and then be running for your life the next.

That day taught me to make the best of each day.  Enjoy the people around you as you never know when the time will come.