4.17.2012

Airport encounters

Last month C and I went out to LA to visit my sister and her fiance. We were heading out to the airport and I got an email that said that our flight back to Denver was delayed an hour an a half but to still check in as if it were on time. So frustrating. So we checked in and made our way to the gate. Turned out that our flight was over two hours delayed because our inbound plane was late. When I would look at the flight monitors, our gate kept changing. So I would gather the bathtub and the sink and move from one location to another. By the fourth gate change I went to the United costumer service to complain about it. As I was talking to the worker, she starts rubbing C's arm. And then she says, "oh, I hope you don't mind. I am rubbing her for good luck." I wanted to tell her that it was a little too late for that since she had already taken it upon herself to rub her arm. Did she think she was Buddah or something?

The hours passed and C was getting tired as was I. As we moved to the next gate, C was crying because I wasn't picking her up. So she started crying "my mommy, my mommy." Some lady from a completely different gate came over to approach us. She says "excuse me, is this your daughter?" As I probably rolled my eyes at her, I tell her yes. Then she looks over to C and says "is this your mommy?" C then looks at her like she is crazy and leans closer in to me. Then the lady explains that she heard C crying my mommy. I tell her I know and then she tells me sorry for wasting my time. If I was in fact kidnapping a toddler, why would I be sitting in the busiest area of the airport. I told my coworkers if that was the case, I would have been in the bathroom shaving her hair off. They told me that I had obviously thought too much about it.

On our way home from Sacramento this past week, the craziest cracked out lady sat next to us. We were very thankful for her because she distracted us during the terrifying turbulence. She would scream "Wooo, I love takeoffs. It reminds me of speeding down the highway in my Cadillac." She was so loud during the flight that the lady in front of her had to ask her to stop screaming in her ear.
I can't wait til I am an old lady and I can do crazy things and get away with it.
plane

4 comments:

MOM said...

MY LAUGH FOR THE DAY!!!

SO FUNNY!!

Susannah Sanders said...

What a nightmare! Flying with a two year old is bad enough as it is!

Anonymous said...

Idk. As a half Asian in an interracial relationship I would have been pretty angry if some stranger started petting my child. And equally mad if someone accused me of kidnapping my child. Had a child looked more like the parent no one would have batted an eyelash.

Anna said...

Ugh, wow! Both blatantly racist incidences. I would write an email AND tweet a complaint about the United customer service rep. So unprofessional, disrespectful, and totally crossed a boundary.

The 2nd incident reminds me of high school Latin when I had a sub. When we went to sign in for attendance, we had to show I.D. and my friend Abby (comment above), who is of mixed races, was basically harassed by the sub via interrogation over whether it was REALLY her I.D. and being asked for further documentation. Meanwhile, my classmates and I didn't endure any of that because our appearances matched our names. People are so small minded. I don't think you thought too much about it and had every right to be angry.