Musician's Widow

I set foot on a plane for the first time when I was 23 years old. Nervous, I listened intently to all the safety procedures. I wanted to know what to do should my plane crash… because, after all, that was guaranteed, right? It was in the fine print along with what it cost to change your tickets and the official airline peanut disclosure (the one notifying you the peanuts contained peanuts.)  Your first flight will crash.

Yeah… no. Didn’t happen (obviously) and in the years since I’ve become that passenger that sits down and opens a book. I might give a cursory glance at the flight attendants as they wave their arms and put the yellow life vest on… but I’ve heard it enough that I can practically say it with them.

I sometimes glance around me to see if I can see any first-timers listening to every word. I remember one flight where, during boarding, a mother ran ahead to take a picture of her daughter taking her first steps on a plane. It was half annoying, half amusing, half what-the-he….

Yes, three halves. Shut up.

The girl was a champ. Her first flight didn’t crash either.

So as I write this, once again I am somewhere between Tennessee and Texas. And as I gaze down at the clouds below us, I can’t help but think to myself… everyone should do this atleast once. Now, granted, if you battle claustrophobia, you might be the exception to my broad sweeping statement. But otherwise… you should do it. Yes, even you, Mr. Afraid-of-heights. That’s what aisle seats are for. Pbththth

But flying is an experience. If you dare and take an window seat, it makes you realize how small you really are in the grand scheme of this earth. As cars and trucks become like ants and the ground a huge quilt of fields, golf courses, houses and baseball diamonds, your own existence is realized as being one little piece of the world’s puzzle.

You encounter such a wide range of people when flying. The businessman, focused on the next big deal. The lover with a dreamy and excited look as they can’t wait to see their special someone (or with tears as they leave them). The family on vacation. The mother with a baby, hoping to not be THAT passenger that gives the entire cabin a headache. The Redneck. The socialite. The loudmouth. The child flying alone after a trip to see grandma (or a parent).

Flying gives you time to quiet your mind. Flying gives you time to read. Flying let’s you befriend a stranger (if you are so inclined.) Flying gives you… you time!

See, flying isn’t just about getting from point A to point B. It’s about the experience. Oh, sure, I’ve had bad experiences… a 7 hour delay (when I could have driven the trip in 3 hours). Terrible seat-mates. Rough landings. The time a woman REFUSED to trade seats so my husband and I could sit together on a 4 hour flight. A cabin full of junior high kids on a trip. Luggage concerns. Etc.

But on a whole, I take the good and shrug off the bad. I enjoy flying. A lot. I wish everyone else did, too, and I urge those non-flyers to try it sometime.

BTW — there isn’t really anything in any fine print about crashing. So stop looking for it and panicking. Sheesh!!

Today I write somewhere above East Texas… or perhaps Louisiana. I really don’t know. I don’t really care either.

The sun is setting outside my window. Row 6. Seat A. Flight 1264 on Southwest Airlines out of Houston Hobby. Destination: Nashville, TN.

I am snaking on Honey Roasted peanuts. Sipping a small cup of Coca Cola.

This is my second flight of the day. My first flight has from Austin, Tx to Houston. I had a Ginger Ale on that flight. I guzzled it. As you can guess, that was one of this up, then right back down flights. 50 minutes gate to gate. So maybe 40 minutes in the air. Maybe. I heard a whopping 2 songs on my iPod before it was time to shut ‘er off.

Ah iPod. I don’t think I’ve used it since I last flew April ’10.

Weird to not have flown in so long. I make the trip from Music City USA to the Live Music Capitol of the World regularly. Home to home. (Austin is not home, but its the closest airport to my parents.) I usually fly direct, but it didn’t work his time… hence the plane change. Not a big deal. Still shorter than the 13 hour drive we often make to get to the same destination!

Anyway, back to the iPod. Got sidetracked there. The iPod was deaaaaaaad when I pulled it out. Took forever to charge last night. I switched some music around. Took some stuff off. Put on some new goodies.

Thankful for the iPod on my last flight, short as it was. Two rows behind me was a very brash, loud man. He found himself funny. I got tired of all the MFs and stories of being “gangsta” and “titty glitter”. I’m not easily offended… at all… but this guy was grating on my last nerve. Give me a crying baby over him any flight!!

Ah the people you encounter while traveling. I finally saw jeggings in real life. They’re… not awful, but they also will never be on my wish list.

I, however, do love Southwest airlines comfy seats with charging stations at gates. Brilliant, SWA. Just one more reason I adore them.

Wow. Blogging while flying makes time… well… fly. I land in half an hour. Time to close. Date night once I land. Flying Saucer… here we come!!

With gas prices going higher and higher these days, its hard not to cringe when you pull up to the pump. However, my latest cringe at the pump was not to price… it was the fact that I needed to pee.

Enroute to Texas from Tennessee (a 13 hour drive), fuel, food and pee stops are a must.  We often end up fueling based on what station at which we have a credit card to use. This trip: Exxon.

Right around half-way, we were reaching the desperate level for fuel, and I was searching Google Maps for Exxons. However, after 10 pm, the first two we went to were closed. Our last chance before we entered a long span of Interstate nothingness was an Exxon in Benton, AR. I checked and found they would be open until midnight. Fuel. Grab a drink. We needed to pee. It would work out nicely.

We pulled up, and I noted the gas price was “reasonable” and the place well lit. I made note of a very nice looking woman behind the counter, and I suddenly felt very relaxed and comfortable with our stop choice.

As my husband started to fuel, I went in to use restroom. I saw a sign up on the door that said it was closed for cleaning. Huh. Well, we weren’t in that big of a hurry. I could wait a little while.

The woman behind the counter asked if she could help me, and I said I needed to use the restroom. I was informed that, “restrooms close at 9 pm so I don’t have to go clean them again every 5 minutes.” I wanted to cry. I wanted to yell. Instead, I went, “oh ok.” And walked out.

As the cold air hit me, I decided I was angry. And I was reminded again: I needed to GO!

Bathrooms close at 9? No apology? No suggestion where else I could go? Just closed so they don’t have to clean them again? What about customers who NEED to stop? What about customers who just spent…

I told my husband to just stop fueling. I didn’t want to give his place another penny. We were so close to full, though, that stopping didn’t make sense either.

I explained what happened, and my husband was mad too. He went in to inquire, and was told it was what her manager told her to do. It was station policy.

When my husband came back, also irritated, I was just clicking off $61 in fuel.

$61 to be told I couldn’t pee, without apology and without any help as to where to find an open restroom.

We left, and the longer we drove trying to find a restroom, the more upset we got. I put out a scalding review on Google places, as well as Foursquare. NO ONE else should treated as we were.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. The woman has pleasant enough. But the thing that really got us was the lack of sympathy. The lack of service — we were travelers that did not know the area — was what angered us. It can be station policy to close the restrooms, but you can curve the sting by still helping out in some manner.

We eventually found this small privately owned truck stop to use the restroom and get something to drink. I was leery at first, but I discovered some of the cleanest restrooms ever! I was really happy we stopped there! I wish it had been where we fueled, even, because I want to help places that help me.

But, alas, I am left with the frustration of having been denied my need to pee. And that, my friends, is one need that should NOT be denied.

So, dear Exxon in Benton, AR, I will not be back. I doubt you really care, but I do. As does my bladder. I won’t forget.

My husband and I are back on the road… heading back to Nashville. So this will be short as I write via WordPress App again…

As we left my hometown, my brother called, giving us a hard time for trying to sneak away. Turns out, we went right by them and didn’t notice. So we turned around and went back.

We sat and visited with my brother and family for probably around half an hour before hitting the road again. It was wonderful!

As we drove off, I thanked my husband for going back.

“I know it put us a little behind, but it meant a lot to get to see them again,” I said.

“It’s family,” he responded.  “Any time spent with family is not time lost or wasted. It’s time well spent.”

It happens to all of us at some point, if you ever travel by car… getting stuck in traffic.

I’m currently on a quick little road trip to see my family in Texas. In fact, I write from my phone in the truck. WordPress app for the win!

Don’t worry, I’m not driving and blogging. Promise.

I’m in Northeast Texas on a state highway I’ve never been on before. It’s beautiful! Luckily, storms that were through here today have long moved on… blue skies and puffy white clouds, wide open fields.

This is not where I was supposed to be, though. I usually take the Interstate the whole way. I like to just keep moving. No small towns with Barney and his one bullet and ten stop signs. It’s fast and I can go into auto-pilot on that route.

However, today, we got about half an hour out of Dallas, and it was a parking lot. Our handy dandy smart phones informed us this was due to road construction. No love for TxDOT from me due to this. Especially when you see traffic as far as the eye can see, both ahead of you and behind you.

Oh okay, it was a little amusing until a Barney stopped people from cutting across a closed Interstate on-ramp onto the access road to catch an FM road away from the madness. Then I got annoyed. There seemed no way out. No end in sight. 45 minutes passed, we moved about a mile.

In comes the handy smart phone and a crossover and a state highway. Yay! Now we are moving and enjoying better scenery. Live in the moment and find the positive in the situation.

Stuck in traffic stinks, but it forced us to take the path we’ve never traveled. There is something cool about that.

For a period of time, while I was keeping my LiveJournal up daily, I would participate in The Friday Five. I decided this week to see if it still existed and to my delight it does! So today I bring to this blog my answers to this week’s Friday Five questions.

1) What is your favorite mode of travel? (Car, train, plane, etc).

I very much enjoy flying! I occasionally will reach a point when I just have the urge to fly somewhere. Anywhere. It’s just fun to look down from the skies on the Earth and marvel over how small we truly are. However, with the cost of flying, the security fears, and all those ridiculous fees… give me a road trip any day! Plus, I prefer to have more control over when I go, where I go, and how fast I get there.

2) Where is the northernmost place you’ve traveled? The southernmost?

Northernmost:  Astoria, OR
Southernmost: Honolulu, HI

3) What is the last place you visited for the first time?

Clarksville, TN… I know, so very exotic.

4) Of all the places you’ve traveled, which is your favorite?

Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN — So relaxing and beautiful!

5) Where would you most like to travel to next?

I have so many places I want to travel to see! Right now? I am trying to plan a trip down to Texas again. Hopefully for a special day coming up next month. Everyone cross your fingers!!