Arriving home part two
We glanced at the screen at noon only to see a new noticed that read "New info 13:15" so now it appeared that we would have to wait until 1:15pm. We read a few magazines, strolled through a few stores and at 1:15 we checked the monitors again only to discover another notice, "New Info 14:15". Okay, so now we shall wait until 2:15pm to recieve more information. Once 2:15 arrived, we were starting to get worried when the monitor read "new info...." We went to the information desk and asked why the monitor was blank. The woman informed us that our pilot tried to land the plane earlier that day and he hit a staircase. A light fixture on the wing had broken and now they were repairing the plane.
We continued to shop and hmmm and hawwwed over whether to return the purchases we made in the airport. It seemed that the rules kept changing every thirty minuites and even the sales clerks were becoming flustered with all the different changes on whether the customers could buy anything in their stores. We were quite happy when Ellen discovered these perfect lip glosses at Victoria Secret that added the perfect shimmer to her lips, but did not seem gooey when she placed it on. We decided to check the monitors at 3:30am and that is when our hearts dropped into the pits of our stomachs. I went into complete denial and Ellen was trying to understand what we had read.
We glanced at the monitor only to discover it read, "Delayed to 04:00" which meant our plane would not leave until 4am. We would have to stay in the bloody terminal for another 12 hours. We were already there for 8 hours and could not phantom staying there for an additional twelve. We quickly headed towards the information desk where a man explained to us that it was true about the pilot hitting the staircase and now he and his crew would need to sleep. Someone would accompany us to pick up our luggage and then we could head off to the Hilton where we would recieve a complimentary dinner and hotel room where we could rest and refresh until 2am. We could then walk over to check in, drop off our bags, whiz through security and board our plane for 4am. That was a huge relief and so off we went.
The buffet was quite good. It was great to talk to my parents to tell them that we would be okay. Ellen and I even met an interesting fellow from Belfast who was going to attend a conference in Toronto. It only occured to me later that he was probably coming for the huge AIDS conference held in our town. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates along with other celebrities such as Richard Gere would also be attending.
After a pleasant slumber in the hilton beds we awoke and went over to the airport. We didn't have any problems and we were so happy to finally be on the plane. I slept through most of the flight, but was surprised to find a lady next to me who never seemed to get out of her seat. Ellen and I would need to use the toilets, but would have to climb over her legs to get out of our seats. It was not until near the end of the flight that she got up and offered her pencil for us to use to complete our declaration cards. I noticed she was sleeping a lot too and so perhaps too exhausted to move. Ellen and I were happily counting down the hours and minuites to when we would land in Toronto.
Words cannot convey how happy we were when we did arrive at Pearson airport and that we could be with our loved ones. The whole experience of walking around with clear plastic bags had been surreal. I felt like we were in some science fiction movie and no one was trying to wake us up. The whole notion of bomb threats had seemed so surreal as well. Even now I only recall our delicious breakfast at Garfunkel's where we had the American breakfast and shared our favorite English side - beans. I remember eating in a cafe at 3:00am where Ellen had a light pastry and some tea with juice. I bought a juice, smoothie and dried apples and we were commenting on the amount of people drinking beer.
I still have no idea how that man who inspired the movie, The Terminal, lived in such a place for so long. I took the next two days to unwind a bit and start making a few changes.
We continued to shop and hmmm and hawwwed over whether to return the purchases we made in the airport. It seemed that the rules kept changing every thirty minuites and even the sales clerks were becoming flustered with all the different changes on whether the customers could buy anything in their stores. We were quite happy when Ellen discovered these perfect lip glosses at Victoria Secret that added the perfect shimmer to her lips, but did not seem gooey when she placed it on. We decided to check the monitors at 3:30am and that is when our hearts dropped into the pits of our stomachs. I went into complete denial and Ellen was trying to understand what we had read.
We glanced at the monitor only to discover it read, "Delayed to 04:00" which meant our plane would not leave until 4am. We would have to stay in the bloody terminal for another 12 hours. We were already there for 8 hours and could not phantom staying there for an additional twelve. We quickly headed towards the information desk where a man explained to us that it was true about the pilot hitting the staircase and now he and his crew would need to sleep. Someone would accompany us to pick up our luggage and then we could head off to the Hilton where we would recieve a complimentary dinner and hotel room where we could rest and refresh until 2am. We could then walk over to check in, drop off our bags, whiz through security and board our plane for 4am. That was a huge relief and so off we went.
The buffet was quite good. It was great to talk to my parents to tell them that we would be okay. Ellen and I even met an interesting fellow from Belfast who was going to attend a conference in Toronto. It only occured to me later that he was probably coming for the huge AIDS conference held in our town. Bill Clinton and Bill Gates along with other celebrities such as Richard Gere would also be attending.
After a pleasant slumber in the hilton beds we awoke and went over to the airport. We didn't have any problems and we were so happy to finally be on the plane. I slept through most of the flight, but was surprised to find a lady next to me who never seemed to get out of her seat. Ellen and I would need to use the toilets, but would have to climb over her legs to get out of our seats. It was not until near the end of the flight that she got up and offered her pencil for us to use to complete our declaration cards. I noticed she was sleeping a lot too and so perhaps too exhausted to move. Ellen and I were happily counting down the hours and minuites to when we would land in Toronto.
Words cannot convey how happy we were when we did arrive at Pearson airport and that we could be with our loved ones. The whole experience of walking around with clear plastic bags had been surreal. I felt like we were in some science fiction movie and no one was trying to wake us up. The whole notion of bomb threats had seemed so surreal as well. Even now I only recall our delicious breakfast at Garfunkel's where we had the American breakfast and shared our favorite English side - beans. I remember eating in a cafe at 3:00am where Ellen had a light pastry and some tea with juice. I bought a juice, smoothie and dried apples and we were commenting on the amount of people drinking beer.
I still have no idea how that man who inspired the movie, The Terminal, lived in such a place for so long. I took the next two days to unwind a bit and start making a few changes.
posted by Ophelia Pace at 3:52 AM
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