Flying Back

Nov. 2, 2022-Izmir to JFK Rudy met six of us bright and early for a 5:30AM departure to the Izmir airport. He was ready with coffee and breakfast in a box. We were flying to Istanbul for connecting flights home or further travel. We had varying lengths of layover. Ours was the shortest at seven hours. We hung out with the others unti our gate was posted, said our goodbyes, and eagerly walked to our flight. On the way, we noticed a sign to Business Lounge. Who knew? We settled in to enjoy our unexpected perks. There was a full out buffet, free drinks including alcohol, marble restrooms with cubbies large enough to change clothes in, and an ironing service. As with the airport population, the diversity was incredible. The clothing, languages, and hairstyles reflected countries and cultures circling the globe. What a privilege. Security was constant. We went through four separate screenings varying from walk through scanners to opening our hand luggage at the gate. We finally settled into our business class seats with aplomb. The wonder of it was gone, but we are totally spoiled. During our seven hour wait to board, I was looking forward to getting into my little pod and curling up. Of course I had to wait until after dinner. There was an enormous man seated across the aisle from us. He had to weigh at least 450 lbs. He was Indian and going to the US for heart surgery. His family flew economy, but he clearly couldn’t. They alternated coming to help him and the conversation got loud. Still, I managed to sleep 5 hours and watch King Richard. Not bad. We arrived at JFK on time as did our luggage. Now we’re at the Fairfield trying to settle in for the night. Tomorrow Akron. Toby