Always Something to Worry About

I joke about it, I do. Because it can be funny. But it’s exhausting. Give me a scenario, and I’ll give you a list of what could go wrong.

When you get on a plane, does it cross your mind it might crash? It crosses my mind—it more than crosses my mind. I picture it. I imagine the details. I see the emergency doors opening and hear flight attendants issuing instructions.

Oh, wait, I don’t have to create this scenario in my head. It happened.

August 2008: We’re an hour into our flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii. We are over the great blue expanse of ocean water when I sense something is not right. The cabin smells funny, pungent, smoky.

I glance at my husband. He’s asleep, of course. I look around. My fellow passengers are seemingly unaware. The crew is busy in the back. Then, a woman catches my eye. I tap my nose and she does the same (evidently the universal sign for “do you smell something?”) with a worried frown.

Within minutes, the atmosphere turns hazy and more passengers realize that something is amiss. A flight attendant runs up the aisle toward the cockpit. Believe me, a running flight attendant is not good.

I smack my husband’s arm to wake him up.

“What?”

“Something’s wrong,” I tell him.

“I’m sure they’ll fix it,” he says.

Oh, well, that makes me feel better.

This is why I always pay attention to emergency instructions, no matter how many times I’ve heard them.

Then the announcement blares. “This is your captain speaking. Due the appearance of smoke in the cabin, we are returning to LAX. Please remain calm and put on your oxygen masks.”

Ha! Guess who knows how to put on an oxygen mask. But the life vest? I’m a little worried about that.

So there we are in an airplane that might catch fire or explode or be forced to land in water. It occurs to me it’s a good thing we are early in the flight and not half way out.

The next forty-five minutes are torturous. Passengers are eerily quiet. Some cry, some pray, some sleep. Believe me, if I could’ve slept I would’ve!

My thoughts collide like meteors crashing—my dogs, my parents, my bills, the messy condition in which I left my house, did I pay the life insurance policy and who will get all that money when my entire family perishes? Do suitcases float?

Finally, the captain comes on again. “We are on approach. I will initiate emergency evacuation. Leave all belongs, follow instructions, do not panic.”

The flight attendants instruct us clearly, hardly anybody freaks out (a few do, naturally), the emergency doors open, blinding light fills the plane. Through the windows, we watch as gigantic yellow slides spring to life.

I wait my turn and do as I am told. I push my two children in front of me and go ahead of my husband. At the exit, I freeze. It is a long way down…

~To Be Continued~

Okay, back to real time. I’ll share the aftermath of my adventure in the next post.

In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying my Julie Doing Julie Things Substack.

In book news, Jen Sinclair’s new release “Stages” launches next week. I was privileged to read an advance copy. It’s fast paced, compelling, beautifully written, and includes a stunning twist!

Click this link to view STAGES on Amazon