Midnight Flight

Wow, the midnight flight to Chicago must be the poor people flight. I must admit it, I thought it was a brilliant flight to take because it was such a cheap buy, so I am admittedly in that poor person category. Waiting for boarding, it was all working class people, pregnant people, and old people. I thought people flying late at night would be dressed comfortably, but people were in casual street clothes. I was the most homeless looking person in the entire airport…and it was Oakland airport. Had I been sleepy I would have scrounged up discarded newspapers and laid them over my eyes and all over my body, for warmth and a shield from light.

I also sat at the airport bar for a drink. No one hit on me because, again, I appeared homeless. But I was eavesdropping on the conversation beside me. It was a man and a woman assumably in their late thirties. It started out casual enough, but progressed to the topic of martial cheating- he was sleeping with a married woman, and the woman he was talking to seemed fully engrossed/engorged by the topic…I am gross. Anyway. Where am I a going with this story? I think it is going to the conclusion that I don’t ever want to be that woman who finds that topic interesting if it is coming from a random man at a bar. Aaaaand a large group of 20-something Asian-Americans just sat down beside me, which means I must move. Ta-ta.

(5 hours pass).

During the flight, I had an Arrested Development moment: I’ve made a huge little mistake. A red-eye domestic flight is not advisable. I was so restless- just when I would find a comfortable position, my arm would fall asleep or my neck would spasm. If I were to imagine what a hell might be like, it would be an overnight flight with Muzak playing and LCD monitors flickering in muted light.

When I arrived to Midway, I felt like I had gone through a wormhole. Just 4 hours ago, people were falling asleep. Now, people are awake, eating breakfast, and freshly made up for the day. Aaaaand I still look homeless.