A little plane ride 1985

the first near death experience I had at age 17. A trip I'll never forget.

A Little Plane Ride 1985

 

Sitting in JFK airport

waiting to board

A trip of a lifetime

paid for by Grandma

A Graduation present

A trip to Italy and Switzerland

17 years old and 15 days abroad...

First time Ever out of the country

Announcement blares a warning

Flight delayed 3 hours,

due to engine trouble

just what I want to hear

before a 7 hour flight across

nothing but water...

A collective moan

fills the waiting area

Grandma wants to stay put

But decides on lunch anyway

An hour and a half later

Announcement rings out

We will now begin to board

engine is fixed...

Two movies and several white Russians later

from a comfy 68* cabin to 104* trolley

drives us to the terminal in Rome.

God I’m drunk and it’s really hot

Our luggage is quicky sent to the back of the airport

We turn the corner

we are met with red berets and oozies

A solider rips open my new leather suitcase

breaks my curling iron

perfume powder all over my clothes

WHAT THE HELL?

Welcome to Italy, I spit

We are shuffled off into a bus

and brought to our hotel room

no explanations

Three days later in Florence

Grandma reads in the local paper

There was a bomb in one of the suitcases

on our flight.

They ripped up my luggage and others

in search of the bomb.

The bomb...went off in the Rome airport

exactly the time we were SUPPOSE

to land in Italy,

if we had been delayed the full 3 hours

Just not my time to go...

Sandra Ferrara Gentry 2008

Author's Note

ever get that feeling that death is stalking you?

Reviews

[Spoken]

final destination-y.. death has a design, a plan. Maybe you've cheated it and it's trying to tie the loose ends!? haha..

a trip to Italy and Switzerland.. dang.. wish i had your grandma when i graduated. I'm jealous.

sounds like a close call for sure. One of those i can't believe that just happened moments.

[Reeses]

Death seems to stalk us all. Sometymes wearing a smile. . . ~Reeses~

[Ladysue]

Wow, very lucky lady I'd say! You certainly have had your share of scares!

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Holy wow... now that is really something... I bet you were thanking God to be alive.

[R J Askew]

Bloody hell! What an experience! It started off so wonderfully, too. What a learning curve. Your elder must have been horrified putting you in the way of all that. Travel is an experience and it sounds like you had quiet an experiece there. But as you say, not your turn, luckily. David Bowie's approach to travel sounds like a good plan...but then he can afford to take slow boats I suppose.