The attendant must have noticed the look of awe and wonderment on my face, or I must have stood frozen in position; whatever happened I am still not sure. All I remember is that she took my boarding pass and said something about welcoming me aboard and hoping that I enjoyed the flight. She practically led me by the hand to my seat!
At my seat I started fumbling with the seatbelt and was on the verge of exasperation when finally I was able to put it on. I then settled back into my seat watching what seemed like an endless stream of passengers boarding. How many people did this damn thing hold! My mind wandered as I sat there by the window. I can’t say how long I had been daydreaming, but I was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of a female voice on some sort of intercom.
The voice was metallic and monotonous. I could tell that whoever it was, she had repeated those very words again and again possibly for years. She welcomed us all aboard, told us her name and proceeded to explain certain emergency measures. Emergency measures! Who was she kidding? Here I was, trying to figure out what manner of idiocy had brought me aboard this contraption, and she was talking about emergency measures! That did it! I immediately grabbed my “King James “ pocket version and started to read from the psalms. After all, I could not think of anything real bad that I had done, so the scriptures would surely help to calm me down. (okay, I am exaggerating! I didnt bring a Bible. =p)
As we taxied down the runway I sat rigidly, (jib's fingers were at the same time buried on my arms-he didnt like the feeling of taking off) and asked the powers that be to make sure that we did not roll into the ocean. Buildings, trees, other planes whisked by, and in no time we were airborne. Even though I was scared half to death, I was impressed by the totally different perspective I had when I dared to look out the window. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen! I could see miniature buildings and lights way below. The shoreline was visible for miles and I found myself wondering if the people who drew maps did so from airplanes.
After several minutes into our flight, I started to relax a little. The feeling of crashing began to vanish. We did not appear to be moving! I looked out the window and all I could see was a dark sky. I was on top of the clouds! The captain’s voice came over the intercom wishing us a safe flight. We would be cruising at 355 miles and should be landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in about 45 minutes. Somehow the captain’s voice was more reassuring than the previous voice we had heard. Feeling much more secure I settled back into my seat and started to read the plane's magazine while Jib and Mj were so busy talking. I had barely got into my book before two attendants pushed a cart with assorted food and drinks, stopped by our seats and asked whether we wanted anything to eat. Afterwhich, I closed my eyes and dozed off...
There was a flickering of lights and the voice on the intercom informed us that we were approaching NAIA, and would be landing in a matter of minutes. I looked out the window and was amazed with the sun set. What a sight! There was a bump followed by another and buildings were flashing past my window. We had landed! We taxied for about 10 minutes before coming to a complete stop. I shall never be able to describe the profound feeling of relief I felt knowing that we were again on solid ground. (we did not crash and I was still alive! oh yeah, hardcore paranoia!)
With all the anxiety I felt, I really believe that we owe a lot to technology and the pioneers of flight who made it possible for me to travel 355 miles in 45 minutes...
Manila trainers, here I come... Sit back, relax and buckle up!
No comments:
Post a Comment