I have already cancelled a lot of flights thanks to Coronavirus.
I also have several more that I can go ahead and cancel, since the shows I was traveling to have been cancelled or postponed. Saddest one yet… I was supposed to fly to Europe for a month starting two days ago. It felt like a knife twisting in my heart when my Google Home kindly let me know that my flight had landed in Oslo, Norway Monday morning.
I live really close to the airport, so I am constantly watching plans fly in and fly out. I understand that despite all the stay at home orders and travel restrictions, some people still have to fly places. I can’t help but be jealous of them though.
Today I was kindly reminded of my absolute favorite some from the 2000’s, Gary Allan’s “Watching Airplanes.” I was in high school when this song came out and I had only been on a plane once, so I’m not sure why it was my favorite song. Maybe I already knew my future had a lot more air travel in it. Which was true, until two months ago.
Granted my last flight was exactly two months ago yesterday, I am definitely missing it. I mean, I don’t miss cramming too many people into a metal tube, or stuffing all my clothes in my carry on, or the cost of airport beers, but I miss the feeling of freedom that releases when the plane starts to back away from the gate.
Until it’s safe to travel again, I guess I’ll just keep sitting in my backyard watching airplanes. Trying to figure out the next one I might be on and why COVID-19 did this to us.
