It’s Sunday in Istanbul
What a line of 200+ bumped airline passengers looks like.
Istanbul #1 of 4
It’s Sunday in Istanbul. It took two attempts to get here, our first plane rescheduled after a five hour “tour” in the SeaTac airport. An hour and a half of that glorious time was spent sitting in the airplane before being deplaned, making us a day later on our arrival and a short trip to check out possible pilgrimage routes even shorter.
It’s interesting how many friends you make when a plane gets bumped an entire day, a spin on the misery loves company idea, but it really does create solidarity. Or maybe it had something to do with me buying a bottle of wine, getting an extra glass and giving it to the first lucky contestant in the Hilton Hotel lobby. Like us, he was waiting again, in another line, for a resolution to what was no doubt a very expensive screw-up by British Air.
I am constantly thankful for that marvel we call Peanut M&M’s. As is our custom, we had purchased two Fun Sized bags, one for me, one for Sandy, so we are each in control of our own stash; I’m no dummy. We plowed through them going into the second hour of being buckled-up, sitting-in-a-seat going no-where limbo, hoping some of that chocolate, caffeinated fun might rub off, but no such luck.
Yet somehow this crappy situation brought out the best in me, which I do not understand because believe me it was a very unfortunate place in my head. However I now have many new friends, including a lovely woman who lives in Istanbul, whose bags I watched. I found her near the doors of the main terminal, and she was flying alone. In the chaotic scramble of ”OMG I hate British Air,” it just was obvious that I should wait with her stuff while she went somewhere to take care of something and would be back at some point.
Or maybe it was the aura of goodness bestowed by the blessed Peanut M&M’s that created the friendships. We weren’t taking any chances and Sandy purchased a half pound bag for our second go at making it across the pond, and I passed the bag around; to the Turkish man sitting next to me who previously almost bit-off the head of a UN worker in line who now sat directly behind us; to my new friend Sevda Sulac from Istanbul who wound up sitting next to the UN worker, who told me Oprah said the brown ones have no calories, and then of course to Sandy and myself as we settled it.
Never, ever, underestimate the power of candy.
I worked for Macy’s for a few years, and Candy Shop was the best place to ring-up customers. As the purveyors of Macy’s beloved Frangoes, you were absolved of Macy’s numerous sins against the humanity of shoppers, and everyone, I mean everyone, loved you.
So it’s Sunday in Istanbul. I wonder what the day will bring.
©Theresa Elliott, All Rights Reserved
What a line of 200+ bumped airline passengers looks like, part 2