Up, Up and Away

 

Richard’s new guilty pleasure is Hulu’s “Inside Airport Lost and Found” which focuses on objects left behind.  When there is unclaimed luggage security is contacted to bring a dog to sniff the luggage.  The story unfold with an entire set unclaimed bags that had been setting in said destination for over ten minutes.  Ten minutes?

I recall returning home from my mission.  I don’t remember the airline – Continental I think.  I was the only sister missionary who was returning.  When we landed in Atlanta our connecting flight was just one gate over – but we had time to ride the shuttle and so got on it just for fun. The holdup happened in Denver as I recall.  I don’t remember the exact number of elders who were on the plane with me.  We had missed our connecting flight and had to be rescheduled or else the plane was running late or something.  One plane was overbooked.  They asked for volunteers to take another flight and were bribed with tickets for future plans.

I recall one elder wanting to take the opportunity and another counseling him not to since the tickets were arranged by the church and not the individual.  Turns out they wouldn’t have worked for said bribe anyway.

Meanwhile families had turned out to welcome back their missionaries.  This was back in 1986 when families could wait at the gates.  Mom said it appeared that the entire ward of someone had turned out.  When passengers started to disembark the crowd waited.  They waited and waited.  When the flight attendants followed by the pilots disembarked one of the family members who’d been anxiously waiting for his missionary turned to the crowd and implied that his son was some kind of jokester and we were all still aboard the plane.  But we were not. They had a LONG wait. 

My sister was hungry – everybody was hungry.  But Shelly was the only one willing to eat lentil soup which (at the time) was the least expensive thing on the menu.  People left.  How much longer would they have to wait around.  There were inquiries – where are the missionaries who should have arrived.  Some calls were made and some names were given.  I think there may have been six elders coming home – but I don’t know if all were by way of Salt Lake City.  Regardless, they had the names of whoever was supposed to arrive.  They had all the names of the elders but not the sister.  So of course my mom seemed to panic.  Where was I?

I arrived an hour and a half later with the number of missionaries headed to Utah.  My luggage didn’t seem to be on the carrousel so I told my family that we could go eat and just return for my luggage the next morning.  It was well over ten minutes.  Probably over twelve hours before I even called the airport to ask about the luggage. 

          I was asked about the color of my luggage.  Blue.  Like how many possible blue pieces could there be?  500?  1000.  I remember explaining to someone that I had come on Continental whatever number it was.  He said he remembered seeing it in the United terminal.  How?  What?  How could you possibly know those bags were mine out of the many pieces of luggage you much see each hour? but the I had initially been scheduled to fly United.  We all had.  But the elders’ luggage had been transferred to Continental.  Mine had remained with United which is why there wasn’t a record of me being on Continental. 

          I was grateful that I hadn’t stuck around to pick up my luggage with another 30 minute to how many hours later? I was impressed with the knowledge that this individual had regarding my luggage.  Perhaps it had been reported and that’s how he knew.  As I recall I did have to pick it up at the United unclaimed luggage and show proof that it was mine.  I hadn’t thought about that until just this very second.  Did the airport have dog security back then? 

Where Is The Security???

             The heat had contributed to not only drinking more water than normal in order to stay hydrated but also made me somewhat disoriented.  A worker at the Jurassic ride had allowed me to cut through the line in order to get out – I saw two different exit signs and had gone towards the first as that is where I was being sent.  Maybe not.  I saw people sitting like they were tired of standing in an endless non-moving line.  Thus I decided I would go in the direction of the “other exit”. 

       I don’t remember having gone through a door.  Oh, maybe I did to exit.  The doors were marked “employees only” all of except for the last one.  It said “door alarm will sound” I could see it was attached to some electronic device.  I chose the first one before it.  As soon as the door shut I realized that I was no longer in the park and had no way of getting back in. 

       My first thought was, “Where is the security?”

       I had a view of Studio 81.  To the left was the exit from Universal lot, to the right . . . perhaps if I followed the exiting area around?  See where it goes?  Would it lead me back?  Would studio 81 have a bathroom?  Probably not – I mean those things are supposed to be soundproof, right?  I am lost.  I am so lost.  I am no longer in the park and I am somewhere in Universal cyberspace and I don’t know how to get back. 

       I heard a siren – a really loud siren.  Or maybe not the siren.  Just the engine.  I don’t know what it was.  It was loud.  It was the widest fire truck I had ever seen – not like these fire trucks (below) that Jaime took when we were on the tram.  

It was loud and big and . . . surely there would be a person in it, right? 

       I saw some legs through a garage door.  The engine was too loud.  The person (assuming there really was a person on the other end of those legs) could not hear me.  I walked further.  There was nobody in the truck!  Are you kidding me?  Where is the security?  Could I actually have the opportunity to steal a fire truck?  What huge consequences that would provide! 

       Just beyond the fire truck (did I mention it was huge?!?) I saw some stairs.  There were stairs at the park!  Perhaps they would take me back.  I took the gamble and climbed the stairs.  As I rounded the bend I saw two security guards sitting on chairs watching the park.  It’s about time.

       “I am so sorry,” I said.  “I know I’m not supposed to be here.  I am lost.” 

       I think the security guard that assisted me was somewhat amused and asked where I was trying to go.  I said I desperately needed to use a bathroom and she directed me where to go.  The other security guard didn’t seem to even notice me – even when I walked past him.

       It was a haphazard adventure – but hey, I got a good story from it, right?

Be Prepared . . . Perhaps

When the “Come Follow Me” program was introduced at the same time as two hour meetings, we were told to use the third hour to study at home.  We were also told that we wanted to develop the habit for one day when we were unable to attend church meetings for whatever reason.  None of us had predicted this soon however.

We had cancelled our last RS activity due to the weather and decided to cancel our upcoming as well.  We had made the decision before the church announced NO MORE MEETINGS until further notice (here). Only seminary will be held unless the schools shut.  But as of now only seminary is the only meeting that will be held at the ward house.  No others.  Not even sacrament meeting. 

Why do people panic instead of remaining calm?  Why do so many always expect the worse.  Instead of viewing the police car at the high school as “Oh, good.  They are keeping my child safe” a parent may panic and demand, “What is going on?” or a fire truck at the elementary . . . of course Roland is looking at this with a business mind and political gain.  I seriously doubt the church is in it for either of those.  And it always takes much longer for the world to catch up to what God has warned us about all along.

Some are eye rollers and don’t understand the severity – or don’t want to.  Closing our eyes to what’s happening won’t make it go away.  When a sporting event is cancelled, then I know that it’s serious.  They haven’t cancelled the schools as of yet, but have limited to school only – no parent teacher conferences, no assemblies, no athletic or performing art events.  Today the air raids have been going off all day. 

We have “bug out” bags located next to our door.  Over the years we have added, borrowed and changed items but have never had to use for intended purpose.  Even now.  We won’t be “bugging out”, we will be staying in.  Hopefully with the benefits of electrical communication and running water.  We won’t stay marooned.  Jenna and I will go to the park or elsewhere if school is cancelled.  Hang out in the fresh air.  It will still be fresh air? 

I came to Oregon, not just to add years to my life, but decades.  I intend to claim them. 

Lockdowns are for Safety

            Lockdowns, shootings and bomb threats were unheard of during my youth - not in my neighborhood.  It was such a foreign concept by yesterdays standards.  Today it is the beginning of norm.

            We were living in West Valley.  Jenna was in the fifth grade. I had been working on the scrapbook that I mention here.  I find it ironic that I had come to a page to explain about how life was then, and what makes her life experiences different from my own when I received a computerized phone call from the school.  The school was on lockdown and no one would be coming in or going in until whatever cause for lockdown was lifted.

            As it turned out, there had been two teenage girls in the area who had been going from residential door to door to steal what they could from houses that seemed unguarded or unlocked.  As the houses were located near the school, the police had asked the school to keep all youth inside until the felons were caught.  Prior to that, I had mentioned smart boards and computer centers that did not exist when I was a youth.

            On October 23 this year, a 911 call was placed to the police about a possible shooting at one of the schools.  The phonecall turned out to be a hoax but the two youth responsible were arrested and placed in juvenile detention.  Two weeks later, there was another threat made when a note was found in the bathroom of that same school.  I would have gone in to assist that day if I hadn't had that appointment in Roseburg.  When I returned home, I got on the computer to look up something else.  I was surprised to see the position still available for a substitute as the day was nearly over.  The reports that the "lockdown had been lifted" were rather sketchy and reported different hours for Thursday than it had reported yesterday.  Last report was that there is still an ongoing investigation. 

            Unfortunately this act has stirred up many emotions and speculations.  Many students were absent from various schools yesterday.  Several are being pulled out and will be home schooled.  Many thought the huge number of absentees was due because of the lockdown.  I personally think that some of it has to do with extending the holiday as the schools have Monday off for Veteran's Day. A meeting scheduled for this Thursday to weed out any misconceptions and help with understanding.  I, for one, refuse to be scared or live in fear as many have done throughout history, and when the plains had been grounded and became active and many refused to fly.  Life goes on.  I'm going to live it to the fullest without being frightened about it.  Whatever will be will be.  I'm certainly not going to stress about it.