Corona Air Travel to a place I have never been.
6 Feet apart on the ground.
Masks, face covering and all as orders came for businesses to reopen
Next day mandatory
Embarked on flight observing the usual.
Full flight. Clumped together
White paper bags distributed on entry with tiny pack of cookies and bottled water.
The usual. No changes there
I can see the signs
Less crew to come.
With safe distancing, there’s nothing they need to do besides the initial guidance in preparation for take off
And even then, that’s automated
Three hours later, the friendship State I arrived.
Big airport. Masks everywhere
Until I get to my mountainous destination
Scanty. A few masked ones. The rest on their own.
Free to wander. Free to decide.
Spread the germs
Get the germs
The virus
Will it ever end?
Second leg. Flight empty except for a few dozen passengers
I arrive at my seat.
Backpack in hand and rollercase
I was assigned to sit next to another passenger
I looked around. Why?
The flights empty for crying out loud!
Lovely lady. Kind. Helped me get ‘settled’ into my window seat
Except…. there’s no window.
Oh that’s weird.
A window seat with no window, hmm
Of course I couldn’t settle
One of my pastimes while traveling is to stare out the window
I read. I write. I plan. I stare. Eyes fixed until the earth beneath disappears behind the clouds
Then I gaze at the morning’s sunrise, midday sun or evening sunset
At nights I just stare at the lights until they are gone
Then I zoom into the plane’s flicker against the night sky.
Absolutely love
But then back to my story.
My kind neighbor who looks like a mayor’s wife who bakes cookies and welcomes all at Christmastime agree that I can make haste to the window behind.
No flight attendant in sight. I settle in.
Flight ready for takeoff they asked me to elevate the seat back
The sure demise of a previous passenger
I wiped the place clean … well as clean as I could without looking like a germaphobe
Settled in.
Look around at a passenger dressed in spacesuit
Extra precaution I’d say
Hungry …. had not eaten from morning and airport snack counters closed for obvious reason
I slaughtered a pack of biscuits brought from home
I usually sleep during take off but was too ravished to nap.
I dived in and ate and ate until the pack of biscuits disappeared
Now I await the 3 hour flight to a place I’ve never been
