TRAVEL SERIES
Flew A Thousand Miles to Eat Lunch
And Liam Neeson kissed my wife
Yesterday was a day like none before. Never have I traveled amid a pandemic, flew a thousand miles to eat lunch, and watched Liam Neeson kiss my wife.
The day started with the chime of an email notification. The email suggested that I would lose six hundred dollars in airline credit if not used in the next twenty-four hours. Unacceptable. Nobody takes my money away.
Within a couple of hours, my wife and I were on our way to the airport. Where were we headed? Atlantic City — to eat lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant in the US. I am a backpacker but, it was a whole new level of crazy even for me.
There was a usual buzz at the airport. The happy and sad tears were on full display. The sea of colorful veils hiding the smiles could have given Milan’s fashion streets a run for their money. You see, you can take a woman out of a fashion store, but you can’t take fashion out of a woman.
The long security gate queue was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. The world had moved on while I hibernated in my man cave for the last year and a half.
The wife has got an adventurous soul or, maybe it was her double Moderna shot. She intentionally picked seats to ensure we sat separately. “Haven’t you had enough of being together,” she argued, “if you want to experience a pandemic flight, what better way to sit next to a camouflaged stranger.”
She got to sit next to a set of handsome man eyes. So did I. Darn!
It was an on-time departure. I was watching Liam Neeson’s Unknown on the small screen. It was then it happened. Liam was in my home, petting my dog and kissing my wife.
What the heck? What have I done? I was better off losing six hundred dollars than losing my wife to a Hollywood hot-shot. And I was not even offered an Indecent Proposal.
“Welcome to Atlantic City” — the announcement woke me up. It was a dream; it was a dream — I repeated in my head. I looked back and, there she was — sitting next to a stranger.
He was no Liam Neeson but a stranger, nevertheless. I made eye contact with him with a mean man stare — “Don’t you even think about it, mister.” I think he responded with a mischievous smile. I couldn’t wait to get off that doomed flight.
After escaping the threat of losing my wife to a stranger, we went straight to The Nizams. I have lost count of how many times we have eaten there. But, every time we do, we fall in love with Indian food all over again. If you are in the city, I recommend eating there especially, the Biryanis.
Our return flight still wasn’t until the evening. So, we went ahead and took the boardwalk and made another failed attempt at becoming rich at the slot machines at the Caesars. Disappointed and exhausted, we went back to the airport.
There was a slight delay with our return flight due to inclement weather back home. Soon after take-off, we heard a loud thud from under the plane. Is this it, we thought? The end. The wife, who was sitting next to me now, looked at me with disgust. You couldn’t let go of six hundred bucks, you cheap bum of a fat hippo.
“We have more fuel than we need,” the captain announced. How can that be bad news? They took extra fuel as a contingency for a delayed arrival because of bad weather back in Chicago. The moment we took off, ATC rescinded the warning. They would now have to fly at eighteen thousand feet with gears down until the aircraft has puked the extra fuel.
In the end, we were unscathed and, I made it back to my bed in less than 16 hours. What a day?
How many days do you remember in your life? This one will make it to my list when I call it a wrap.
Sharing Randomly has a contrasting take on strangers and meeting that special new someone during travel. Women! 🤦♂️
Here’s what David B. Clear thinks on what airline pilots aren’t supposed to say.
