Traveling can be a
blast. In fact, it’s one of the biggest reasons I got into performing. New places, new faces, and getting out of the
daily routine at home make hitting the road a great experience.
There are those days, though, where all of your travel plans
go awry. Keeping sane in some cases can be more than a mortal can do, but like
with so many things in life, it’s all about making the best of a bad situation.
Coming back from the last gig falls into
this category.
Dealing With the Unexpected
Marlo and I were disembarking a ship that berthed at Pier 88
in New York City. There we were, waiting in the assigned meeting room at 7:30
AM (or what felt like 5:00 AM to someone in showbiz). If you looked out the
window, you could see the Intrepid, with all its awesome fighter jets adorning
the upper deck. All of the disembarking performers were at my table, and we
shared stories about all of our mutual acquaintances.
Now, it’s great to catch
up with other artists, but the Immigration officials were taking their sweet
time arriving, and after 2 hours, we were sweating. We had a flight to catch,
after all, and La Guardia was at least 30 minutes away. Finally, at about 10:00
AM, Marlo and I get processed, and it’s off to find our luggage. Was our
luggage waiting for us as we disembarked? Nope. Wouldn’t be a story if it was!
Well, after another 30 minutes waiting for our bags to show up, we head on over
to the taxi area. Our ride, which was supposed to pick us up at 8:45 AM, was
understandable nowhere to be seen. After several calls to the transportation
agency, and multiple swing-bys of the vehicle itself, we are on our merry way
at 11:00 AM. Our flights are at 11:30 AM. Crap.
Obviously, when we arrive at the airport, the plane has
left, and the only option left to us is to wait stand-by. To those of you that
don’t fly much, that means that you go to the gate of the next flight traveling
to your city, and camp there in the hopes of snagging a seat that would
otherwise fly empty. That really isn’t an attractive option, even is normal
circumstances. On that particular day, there was heavy rain, meaning that
flights were delayed. On TOP of that, all of the flights we were interested in
were oversold. So, Marlo and I were looking at a long day of waiting around for
something that probably wasn’t going to happen.
Thinking Outside the Box
In the midst of planning seppuku, I got a call from my dad, who jokingly offered to pick us up after hearing of our plight. DAD, YOU’RE A GENIUS! We’ll rent a car!
By driving, we would get home in a scant 8 hours, whereas if
we try to fly home, we might make it home the next day. Time to call Hertz!
After getting in the car and dealing with some minor (1/2 hour) traffic on the way out of the city, it was clear sailing. You might say “Eight hours in a car is a long slog”, and you’d be right, BUT - just being on the move, and having some sort of control over the situation made all the difference. As a bonus, we got to drive through the Appalachians, where all of the trees were bursting with color. It sure beat the taupe walls of an airport terminal!
After getting in the car and dealing with some minor (1/2 hour) traffic on the way out of the city, it was clear sailing. You might say “Eight hours in a car is a long slog”, and you’d be right, BUT - just being on the move, and having some sort of control over the situation made all the difference. As a bonus, we got to drive through the Appalachians, where all of the trees were bursting with color. It sure beat the taupe walls of an airport terminal!
So when things go wrong and it looks like the day’s a wash,
I have to remind myself that there’s always a way to turn it around, and make
the day fabulous!
