Friends Above the Storm

It’s 4 pm at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on a sunny June day. My flight should be boarding for a 4:40 departure, but it’s not. I look out the window and there’s still no airplane at the jetway. Not a good sign.

Airport delays are just a part of traveling. The key is to be positive, make the most of the idle time and stay abreast of the flight status.

Overhead there’s an announcement, “Due to inclement weather at the airport of the inbound flight, United #1641 to Seattle has been delayed until 7:10 pm. Please check the monitor for further updates. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

My fellow passengers respond to this news with a chorus of exasperated groans.

“Darn, it would have been nice to get home for dinner,” I say to the woman sitting next to me. “But it’s only a one-and-a-half-hour delay. It could be worse.”

“You think so?” she says, looking up from her Ipad to face me. “Look at this weather tracker for the Midwest. This is where our plane is now,” she says, pointing at the screen. “And this is Chicago. See the green areas? Those are storms, and not just any storms—thunderstorms. We’re not leaving for hours, if we leave at all.”

The eternal optimist that I am, I attempt to shift her perspective from glass half empty to half full and reply, “Things may not be as bad as they seem. There’s no storm here, the sun is shining and the flight next to us just took off. I’m sure we’ll leave at 7:10.”

The look on her face tells me that I have not shifted her attitude whatsoever. Good time to grab a coffee and check out the airport shops.

After killing some time getting a pedicure at the airport spa (now that’s a good use of idle time!), I emerge refreshed and ready to find a spot to sit and write.

Uh oh. It’s almost dark outside. Did I lose track of time and miss my flight? A quick look at my clock reassures me. The time is 4:45, but outside it looks like 8:00 at night. Still, all is well, I remind myself. It may be getting dark, but it’s not stormy. Just then a huge clap of thunder explodes outside, followed by a deluge of sideways rain and for the finale several bolts of lightning illuminate the darkness. Yikes!

On my way back to the gate I pass a long line of people holding tickets, waiting in the United customer service line. I walk to the monitor trying to push the ominous words of my fellow traveler out of my mind. The last thing I want to do is create her reality. But when I scroll down the monitor I see the departure status for several flights: Canceled. Double Yikes! Luckily my flight is still categorized as: Delayed. Only now the departure isn’t until 9:10 pm.

An overly friendly sounding voice delivers a general airport announcement, “Due to inclement weather, no flights will be departing or arriving at Chicago O’Hare for the time being. Please check the monitor for updates.”

Basically, the airport is closed. Those lucky enough to live in Chicago leave to go home. The rest of us weigh our limited options: 1) book a hotel or 2) stay at the airport and hope that our flight isn’t cancelled and that the storm blows over before an ungodly hour. It’s a big decision and I need a little time to sit and check in with my intuition. But there’s no place to sit. Since the announcement was made every seat in the airport has become occupied and people have settled in for what could be an all-night wait. Undeterred, I trust in the laws of Mother Nature—eventually somebody will have to go to the bathroom.

A spot opens up and I sit down in an angled configuration of seats facing the windows. Sitting to my left is a young woman fully loaded with tech distractions: earplugs in for music, alternately scrolling Facebook and playing a video game. Her mother is on the phone too, but she is feverishly searching for a hotel room. As the storm visibly intensifies, my previous optimism wanes. There’s a good chance I may have to spend the night and if I want to sleep in a hotel bed rather than the airport floor I need to act soon before all the rooms are sold out. Time to pray for help. OK all you Angels I need to know if my plane will get out tonight.

The crisis has me rattled, not the best disposition for getting clear intuitive guidance. Still, I sit up straight in my chair, pull up my hood, lower my head, close my eyes and wait for intuitive clarity. Just as I begin to calm my mind, a massive clap of thunder crashes outside. Startled, I open my eyes and immediately see a positive sign. It’s a large feather tattooed on the ankle of the young woman sitting next to me. Incredible! Feathers are a symbol my guides use to let me know I am on the right track. I should get home tonight! But it's what she's wearing around her neck that removes any doubt that my plane will depart for Seattle. It is a necklace with an elephant pendant. My sign that great Lord Ganesh, the esteemed bringer of good fortune and breaker of obstacles, is working on my behalf.

I call my husband, who is tracking the situation on the website, Flight Aware.

“I’ll get out of here tonight," I tell him. "But it will be late.”

“Hon, it’s not looking good. Maybe you should get a hotel?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be home.”

Finally, after several more delays (which included gate changes, one-and-a-half hours piecing together a new flight crew and a stalled plane blocking our route to the runway), just before midnight United flight #1641 departs for Seattle. Upon landing the pilot announces our gate number and the usual pleasantries before adding, “And folks, someone on this plane must have really wanted to get home tonight. After we took off, another massive storm cell settled over O’Hare. We were one of the few planes to get out and after we departed they shut the airport down.”

As I watch my luggage come out first at baggage claim, I send out a big prayer of gratitude for the awesome support of my spirit guardians.

© Maria Hart 2017

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