Sky Blues

The signs pull into view,

The officials with their tags and uniforms,

Ushering I with my forms

To the lines for luggage and pass,

Before entering economy class

Shoes off for the scan-o-matic,

Along with anything electronic.

Long lines to the tarmac,

Overhead storage – in with the back pack.

 

The anonymousness of the space,

Looking around to keep pace.

People asleep even before lift-off.

Young people returning to roots,

Men on a business commute.

Strapped in and snug

As a bug in a rug.

The low hum of the cogs,

Voices over the intercom,

The timelessness of that cocoon,

No way to count but by the moving hands.

Being thrown back in your seat,

Moving forward at high speed

I alone with my thoughts,

My planning and my plots.

Occasionally glancing at the watch,

The whites outside the window causing blotch.

Land comes into view.

The end of this aerial move.

I want to tell the head on board,

‘Let me off here, I’m seriously bored’

Coming down to terra firma,

And now time to do the clearance.

I wheel out my luggage,

To continue the rest of my passage.

 

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Destination traveller

For someone who has always been a homebody, it is weird to find out that I have wanderlust (go figure). Now, travel routes, destinations and fares fill my head. My last trip took me out of base for three days and I had the total adventurer experience. Well, here goes:

• Overcoming Inertia

Travel to a new place is nervous business and my whole body told me “don’t do it”. So, I pretended everyone there was simply excited and awaiting my arrival. Not that it worked but it helped me to keep the fear under control (take that dutch courage!).

• Sights and sounds

Apart from the police checkpoints every five and ten minutes drive along the way I learned something about the communities I passed through where not even electric poles were in sight. I am extremely lucky to not come from there and not be serving there. People in Lagos, Nigeria…take my word for it. You are very fortunate.

• Finding your way

Ironically, I had to go through two other towns to get to my destination. Thanks to an insensitive driver and I ended up spending two extra hours on the road. I am lucky I can laugh about my experience now but getting lost isn’t funny in any way and at night it is simply horrifying. I learned that I can handle many situations in life especially new ones without breaking down completely and sobbing. It’s good to know. Also, people are quite helpful … for the right price.

• Returning home

I miss where I am coming from and some part of me wants to go back and explore but I console myself with the fact that I’ll be back soon. Besides, life must go on, mustn’t it? J

“A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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