Day One: Once Upon A Time, Two Weeks Ago...

Sunday, June 21, 2009
... in a not so far away land called DFW airport, my flight to Heathrow Airport-London, England took off....on time....and without mechanical errors (that were announced, at least). ::Screech:: I forgot something important-let's call this the 'Preface'....we had to make one last Dr. Pepper stop at the airport for Mom. We had heard rumors that perhaps this isn't a drink that has taken off so much in Europe, so we knew it was an essential last step. Just FYI-apparently, DFW has a deal with coke, because there wasn't a DP to be found....until we stumbled upon a McDonald's.

It's a good thing we got this last drink in because they did have them in England, and Amsterdam (for a pretty penny, and bottled by coke, with a different taste), but nowhere else. My Mom went more than a WEEK without a Dr. Pepper. This is absolutely unheard of, but it's also the last I'll probably give to this subject. If she wants to discuss the importance of Dr. Pepper....she can start her own blog, but if you too are an addict (insert almost any family member of mine into this space _________, remember to pack your own DPs for international travel!). Back to the flight: This is my first flight without any drama in over 8 years, drama+my personality=a VERY nervous flier. In fact, don't sit next to me....I practice something like Lamaze breathing, whimper, and drink a liter of water (long story), on all take offs. On landings I spend a lot of my time concentrating on 'balancing my weight evenly' so we can land smoothly, and then, of course, I help stop the plane with my foot down on the 'brake'....you know the one they install under my personal seat? It drives me crazy (uhhh...literally) to not be able to control all my irrational flight fears, but it's hard to rationalize yourself out of irrational fear, but at least I'm still flying! Moving on past this glimpse into some of my deeper problems....I'm saving that for my mid-thirties, and a nice, warm couch at a psychologist's office... I will start with a plug-I can't say enough about how great British Airways is....they have roomy seats, they served lots of meals...big meals, and they included all the luxuries (toothbrush, toothpaste, night mask, and the usual-blankets, and pillows). They also had my favorite-an on screen flight map. I mean, sure, you could choose from a slew of movies as well, but what gal has time to watch movies when she needs to be tracking the pilots', plane's, and people's progress on the flight? I did fastforward through bits of a movie, but then it was back to my tracking....just in case they need any help from the girl in seat 27 J....I was ready to discuss flight strategy. I watched it non-stop (coming, AND going), and I never got bored.

And then, 8 and a half hours later (30 minutes ahead of schedule, so that required some extra 'circling' (biting nails here)), we came in for a smooth landing on a wet morning, and then.....

2 comments

Charles and Heidi said...

Back in 1993, Ella and I carried a liter of DP on the plane to Russia for the Laymons. It was more than very well received. While we were there, we came upon a case of DP cans in a small market. You would have thought we had discovered GOLD!!! It was the price of gold, too. We bought a 6 pack of the treasured liquid.
Glad you are safely home in the land of the most cherished drink!! Anxiously waiting for each installment!

Christy said...

I think only Texans (or people who have passed through for a time) can really grasp the importance of a good Dr. Pepper. If this whole teaching thing doesn't work out, I'm just going to smuggle cans of DP back and forth to Europe, I think I could make it big.