Since I don't have much in the way of a post in my head, I thought I'd share with you a [true] story of something that happened to me a few years ago.
I'll begin by telling you that my family still mocks me for this story.
If you don't know by reading, I went to college in Beloit, Wisconsin. By the time I matriculated, Rob had finished OSUT and Airborne School, and had been stationed in Fort Richardson, Alaska. While it was far away, we were still able to see each other relatively easily since O'Hare was so close. I usually got direct flights from O'Hare to Anchorage, but on one occasion I had to make a stop. Keep in mind that returning to Wisconsin after spending a week or so with my then-boyfriend was absolutely unbearable. One time I cried the entire 6-hour flight.
We landed at this airport (can't remember where it was now) at maybe 5:00am or so. I found the one cafe that was open, bought myself a bagel and an orange juice, and sat down. I looked around to see a very drunk woman being helped by a very pregnant woman. The VPW bought the VDW a sandwich and a drink and wished her the best of luck, which I feel would've been weird enough to warrant its own story altogether.
Suddenly the Very Drunk Woman, who was maybe 30, sits down at my table across from me and kind of eyes me a bit. Then she proceeds to tell me that she bought far too much to drink on the plane, and asks me if I could feed her the sandwich.
And you guys, I totally did it. I held up a sandwich to to a grown-ass woman's face because she was apparently too annihilated to hold it herself.
I also let her drink some of my orange juice (gross, Caitlin), talked to her about her failing marriage, and tried to find a place where she could smoke outside without leaving security. I also helped her get to her gate.
I can't really defend my ludicrous behavior except to say that I am terrible at confrontation or telling people no. I tell my sisters that having never been in a similar situation, they can't really judge me, but that's not altogether true.
What's the strangest thing that has happened to you in an airport?
I don't think anything strange has ever happened to me in an airport, though I do remember being baffled as to why there was no Gate 13 in one (did they really think people were fooled by "Gate 12B"?).
ReplyDeleteI actually really like this story - it doesn't make you seem daft; it makes you seem kind. Not many people are sweet enough to spend time with a stranger who's in a state.
haha that's awesome. not everyone would have done that caitlin, which makes you a really kind human being.
ReplyDeletei thought i saw tom hanks in an airport once and tried to chase him into the men's bathroom haha! it totally wasn't him. FAIL.
haha! i think this also says a little bit about the type of person you are ... someone with an open kind heart ;) so, coming home from mexico i had a medicine ball with me (why the hell would i bring one in the first place) and they wouldn't allow me on the plane because they were convinced there were drugs inside!
ReplyDeleteand i'm sure me 6 months pregnant with Jess and the boys and caring all our suitcases and two car seats BY MYSELF at the Boston airport was a sight! i'm sure i was that crazy mom!
Strangest thing that comes to mind was when I was in high school there was a group of us that went to London. We had to drive down to St. Louis, MO to catch the plan...which is about 3 hours or so from the small town (pop. 500) I grew up in. Some of my friends and I had gone to a country singer concert a few weeks prior...the singer was Joe Diffie...don't know what ever happened to the guy. Anyways, we were at a layover in an airport in Wisconsin and we were walking in the airport wasting time when a pilot randomly comes over to me and my friends because one of them had a Joe Diffie concert shirt on & he said he went to school with the guy. Lame, but that was the only thing I could think of that happened in the airport, other than over X-mas when I was walking through with my Texas Longhorns hoodie on and a bunch of guys started YELLING...WOO-HOO....GO LONGHORNS...LOL. That just made me laugh! :)
ReplyDeletebahahaha! as soon as i read "and asks me if i could feed her the sandwich" i knew the rest of the story would result in you actually feeding to poor woman! and as funny as it is to read...you're actually quite kind for helping her out. surely she will remember you forever because of that...if she even remembers anything about that day at all! ;)
ReplyDeleteabout a year ago i was waiting for my flight back to humboldt from phoenix at the phx airport and totally saw a sketchy guy put a questionable bag into a trash can near the customer service desk...like, a backpack. and then just a few minutes later another guy walked by and totally looked in the trash and then looked around as if he was looking to see if anyone would notice. i'm no superhero...but i'm pretty sure that falls under the "if you see anything suspicious" category they always question you about when you check in...so i told the lady at the cs desk and she looked at me like i was insane...i totally thought she was in on it! haha! she contacted airport security and it just so happened that he was standing right there the whole time! wtf?! no one said anything, did anything, or even acted slightly concerned. i still don't know what happened or what the deal was. so weird, right?!
haha...anyway...your story is way better! ;)
xoxo.
I don't think I'd be able to tell the lady no either! I'm a sucker when it comes to being able to help someone.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago in high school a club i was in was going to nationals is Indianapolis. We didn't buy regular tickets in time so they only had those weird tickets that you can buy which allows you to get on the next available flight. I forget what it's called now..maybe standby? Anyways, my mom was chaperoning me and a couple of friends and we had already been at the airport for 7 or 8 hours and were getting super bored. There was a Starbucks there so we were drinking a lot of it when I brought up how much I loved the whipped cream on the drinks, and didn't actually care about the drinks. So, being the flirty girl I was, I decided to sweet talk the guy at the register into giving me free cups of just whipped cream! After one cup each we all were kind of over it, but it was a funny way to pass the time.
Wow...nothing too crazy has happened, or at least nothing as awesome as feeding a drunk lady a sandwich!
ReplyDeletehahah! I loveeee that you helped her eat her sandwich. It makes me love you even more, if that's possible. haha.
ReplyDeleteYou are the best.
OMG lol! This is such a great story, ha! So wait, you flew to Alaska?! That's kinda cool.
ReplyDeleteBut drunk woman... I may have very well done the same thing. Or just said 'sorry' and left. I don't know. I'm really not good with that kind of confrontation, but I really don't do strangers very well. People say hi to me nicely and I immediately get defensive and I'm like 'hi?' and walk away. I'm kinda weird like that. But honestly? Who cares! Good for you! Maybe she really needed the help that day and still thinks about the girl who helped her for NO reason except that she wanted to. :)
Ah ha ha ha ha Caitlin I love this story! You're so great lol. Nothing strange has really happened to me at an airport... yet. There's still time though. =]
ReplyDeleteAww, I think I may have done the same thing. I don't think this is a mock-worthy story. That woman was clearly in need of some sympathetic human contact and it was very nice of you to be there for her.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those neurotic girls that is full-blown terrified of travelling by herself. The flying doesn't scare me or anything like that, it's just that I'm convinced that if I blink I'll get lost and end up in Russia. I've only travelled alone one and it was a complete disaster. I won't go into detail because it's not that interesting but it did nothing to bolster my solo travel confidence.
Hah. So glad you shared this one. :)
ReplyDeleteBAHAHAHA! I LOVED THIS STORY! I might have to retell it. Considering I would probably do the same exact thing.
ReplyDeleteDude, I so know how you feel. I woulda fed that lady the sandwich too. I can't tell you how many weird awkward things I've gotten into because I am terrible at saying no to anyone in distress haha. >_<
ReplyDeleteAh hilarious. I do hope she remembers your efforts.
ReplyDeletei just love you. what an ODD situation! i'm not sure what i would have done. depending on how drunk she was, i probably would have run away because she might puke [gah! phobia!].
ReplyDelete