Sylvia's Journal

The return flight had a few glitches. Not the kind that can easily be fixed by one person because they are ‘system’ glitches. But what is ‘the system’ when you try to fly home?

The Ghanaian Delta staff valiantly tried to load the plane to New York without the help of computers because ‘the system was down.’ I found throngs of people in front of the Delta check-in counters, a full two hours before departure. It was a good thing I had checked in online and printed my boarding passes on hotel stationary. As a result I breezed through check-in and formalities and bypassed the crowds. Still, the people at the gate did not believe that my ordinary piece of paper, the seat assignment section ripped off along the non-existing perforated line, was actually a real boarding pass. This self-service check-in is clearly not a common practice yet on that side of the Atlantic.

Check-in without the help of computers can be done but the manual system is rather slow and flawed. As a result the boarding process was hopelessly chaotic because most people had not received a seat assignment. The plane left an hour and a half later than planned. It was a lucky day for at least 35 people who were pushed forward into the large but empty business class. Among them was Gloria, one of the senior managers with whom I had just spent 3 days at our retreat. It was her lucky break at the start of her vacation.

There was a different kind of chaos awaiting us on the other side of the Atlantic – a traffic jam at JFK which kept us searching for a spot to park and then waiting for a people mover, the funneled buses on retractable stilts. One people mover parked at the rear of the plane which disappointed all the people in business class, especially those who had found a seat near the front door in the hope of being the first out of the plane. Just when we had all moved to the back of the plane, waiting for another bus, one showed up in the front. The mass of people heading for the back door turned around and rushed back to the front door as if the tide had turned and eb turned into flow.

All in all it took over an hour from touch down on the runway to stepping inside the Delta terminal. There was much stressing around me, and we had not even gotten to the city itself! Many people had missed their connections. Not me, I had four hours of waiting ahead of me and so it did not matter where the waiting took place.

Arriving at the Delta terminal at JFK does not show America at its best to first time visitors. The place is grungy and not very welcoming. The TSA lady, asked to do a body search on me because of my sling, inquired what the thing was. I answered that it was a sling, as politely as I could. She then asked me to stick my arms out. I told her my arm was in a sling for a reason and that I could not raise my arm. This was a new concept. After making sure there were no traces of explosives on the contraption I was admitted to the inner departure sanctuary for my next flight.

More glitches as we waited to unhook ourselves from the jet way. Our 10 PM flight was ready for take-off at 11 PM precise. Axel was waiting for me in Boston; it was now close to midnight. There was one more glitch: something big (an accident or a mega construction project) on 128 South had closed the highway and we were ramped off to find our way through exurbia back to 128  a few exits further south. We arrived home after midnight and I tumbled into bed, beyond tired, around 1 AM. It was a fitful sleep but a happy one after this very long day. I am home again with my honey.