Bumpy Ride

My job is dangerous. Whether it’s from handling liquid and powdered chemicals and syringes or the threat of someone trying to rob the store for drugs. But then I have to add a whole new dimension… I fly to work, with other commuters on an 8 to 10 passenger Cessna 8 times a week. There’s nothing like a warm, clear day peeking out the window down at the beach goers. Or a starlit night with lighthouses dotting the landscape. But get a good Nor’easter with winds whipping at 50mph gusts and the last place you want to be is out over the ocean in a tin can with wings. So this being my first fall season flying, I’m not sure what to expect. Last Tuesday was very windy & rainy, so I thought, not a problem, I’ll take the ferry home. Big mistake. One of the ferry lines wasn’t even running due to the high winds. So I took the other line, asked how the seas were, “oh, um, yeah it’s pretty rough” was the answer I got.

I sat down, took out the phone to chit chat with my mom, seeing as how I was stuck on an hour long boat ride. We bobbed up and down until we left port, then it really happened. About the time that fast ferry kicked into high gear, I nearly thought I’d die. The waves crashed over the top of our windows and sounded like a sledge hammer hitting the hull, trash cans flew around the ship. It took all my might just to pull myself to the other side of the table so I was facing the right direction. The older couple in front of me were ghost white with fear. We crashed and thrashed all over the ocean. And then, about a half hour through… it happened. Of all the boat rides, all the cruises, all the fishing trips, never once…. Not once! have I ever been sea sick… but, there’s a first time for everything… Luckily a plastic bag was handy at the time and I was fortunate enough not to have eaten lunch

As we disembarked, the women in front of me turned around and said, “I’ve never been so frightened in my whole life”… And I was never frightened, just terribly nauseous!!! The airline asked me the next day if I chickened out, which I of course replied, “Why yes, yes I did” and they told me I should have flown… I could have been scared for a 15 minute flight as opposed to sick for an entire hour on the boat. Too little, too late. In the last 5 months 2 local plane crashes have resulted in 2 deaths… and all were experienced pilots. Well, the winds picked up again today, and I could hardly stand upright on my walk to the airport in Nantucket, the second busiest airport in New England, but the planes were still flying, barely. We had a fairly rough landing this evening but made it in one piece, this time.

Here’s the bloopers for the collaboration video if you haven’t already seen them!