The Almost Missed Flight

I must have been smoking crack b/c I was positive my flight today from Denver, CO to Los Angeles was at 8:42 am. Being oh so responsible, I signed up for the 6 am airport shuttle. I woke up this morning and leisurely packed. I munched on leftover gluten-free pizza from the night before. I decided to take a quick look at my paper itinerary.

The “Oh FUCK” moment. My flight left at 7:15 am and it was 5:35 am. Oh fuckity fuck. I was panic-stricken. I threw all of my shit into my luggage and ran to the front desk. I don’t think I was speaking comprehendible English since I walking talking in my hyper-Bengali Chick-anxiety voice (1,000 words/minute). The front desk lady calmed my ass down and told me there was a taxi outside. Apparently, someone had ordered a taxi but wasn’t ready to depart. I got in the taxi and struck up a conversation with the Ethiopian driver. He told me about his wife and his 3 small boys with pride. The conversation helped to ease my nerves. He was very sweet and guaranteed me that I’d be at the airport no later than 6:15 am.

I arrived at the airport at 6:05 am. I flew out of the taxi to the Frontier Airlines curbside check-in. Another, “Oh FUCK” moment. I had left my laptop in the cab. Are you kidding me, this is my day??? I once again hysterically called the hotel. They said they would try to contact the cab driver and took down my cell phone number. I couldn’t risk missing my flight. I had to be at LAX in order to catch my flight to Taiwan. I ran to the security line. I was numb with worry. My cell phone started ringing. The cab driver called and told me that he noticed my laptop and dropped it off at the curbside check-in for Frontier Airlines. I had no idea how to get back to the curbside check-in. The Denver Airport is massive. A woman noticed the stress on my face. She offered to help. She took the time to physically bring me to curbside check-in. The man at curbside check-in assured me that my laptop had been sent to my gate. The running started. I ran to the security line and then I literally sprinted to my gate.

I stood in front of the Frontier Airline desk and tried to catch my breath. In between pants I asked the front desk lady about my laptop. She told me no one had sent her a laptop. At this point, I just lost it. Tears started streaming down my face. FUCK ME. I might have lost my laptop. This day just sucked. She was so kind and reassured me that she would do her best to locate my laptop. I started praying. In just a few minutes someone from Frontier brought me my laptop. Sweet relief. Never have I been happier to be on a plane with all bags in tow.

When I arrived at LAX I stopped by the bookstore. I already had a travel guide and wanted to pick up a fiction book. I spotted a good book but it was $15. The cheap girl inside of me kept me from buying it. But, I then spotted the same book for $7.99. I commented to the bookstore sales lady, “I’m so happy I found this book for $7.99.” She said to me, “This is your lucky day.” I said, “Yes, it sure is.”

I could look at this day and say woe is me -- how did I get such bad luck! Or I can be grateful for the following things:
-I made my flight to fucking Taiwan and I am going to board in 1 hour.
-There was a cab waiting outside of my hotel in the exact moment I needed one.
-My cab driver noticed my laptop and was sweet enough to drop it off. I wonder if my friendliness with him during our ride had anything to do with it. We chatted and shared a good amount of personal details from our life. He told me about his mother passing and I told him of my father’s recent death.
-A complete stranger walked me to curbside check-in.
-The Frontier Airline front desk woman responded to my situation with complete and total kindness. She didn’t have to, she chose to.
-A Buddhist Priest on her way to Tokyo started a conversation with me. Her voice, her words filled me up with positive energy. She assured me I’d have a baby.
-While I waited to board the train I asked a Taiwanese woman where she got her McDonald’s. I desperately wanted a diet coke. She didn’t understand me. She just smiled. But when I looked up from my laptop, the Taiwanese lady stood in front of me and offered me her remaining fries and water. I almost cried. She wanted to give me her food. That’s so unbelievably kind.

I am swooning in gratitude. The kindness of strangers does not cease to amaze me. Such incredible beautiful kindnesses today have nourished my spirit. Days like this, surprisingly enough, inspire me to be a better person.