First Delayed Flight of the Year

The holidays are over and 2015 is out of the gate faster than any year I can remember. I had hoped to take some time over the holiday to relax, but a crazy combination of activities for Sparkles Lund combined with construction at my house and houseguests consumed us. Nevertheless, the new year is here and we are as busy as ever.

This morning I got up at 4 a.m. for my second flight of the year. A 6 a.m. departure to LAX then on to JFK arriving in time for dinner. Just before bed my JFK flight was cancelled because of a nor’easter that is expected to bring 3 feet of snow to Manhattan. My go-to-sleep plan was to get to LAX and sort it out from there. At 1:30 a.m. the flight was reinstated and I could feel my body relax as I fell back asleep. 

At 3 a.m. a notification came through on my phone that the flight to LAX was delayed due to crew availability. “Just my luck,” I thought. For the next hour, I tossed and turned knowing that I was to wake up in an hour to get started on what is sure to be a long day. As a seasoned traveler, I know that the best practice is to get to the airport even when your flight is delayed.

The fist three weeks of the year saw mostly road trips. Sparkles is dancing with Will Adams on his Hip-Hop team – WildaBEAST. To prep for Carnival, and epic hip-hop event held each year in LA, he called rehearsals every Monday and Thursday for the month of January. Marilyn and I have been trading off on the 3-hour runs each way LA. Most times, we get home between midnight and 1 a.m. Sparkles does an excellent job of working on her homework on the way down and sleeping on the way home.

Weekends have been busy too. Sparkles worked with Team Hollywood Vibe at a convention in Pittsburgh; shot two dance videos along with and episode of show for Lifetime. In addition, she has been working on rehearsals for her competition team, DPAC and learning 4 solos. As you can imagine, we are working all day on our business while she is in school and working with her on evenings and weekends on dance. Somehow Sparkles manages to get 8 to 10 hours a of sleep, but little down time during the day – School – Homework – Dance – Sleep – School – Homework – Dance -  Sleep – School – Homework - ………You get the picture.

I have been attending this conference in NYC for years. We always have a great party on Times Square. There is always a discussion about the insanity of planning a conference in the North East in January. But, the stoic in me likes the city in the winter. The astringent of cool air and snow dissipates the summer stench. Winter coats replace summer’s sweaty people. A few years ago I had an amazing experience during a Manhattan blizzard. The city was silenced by snow so deep that Taxi cabs and other vehicles were prohibited. I remember standing under the bright flickering lights of Times Square with my tongue stretched out to catch snowflakes, and a snowball fight in the middle of Broadway. The city was bright, snow white, and eerily quiet and peaceful.

That memory of Manhattan during a blizzard is what is drawing me back, overcoming the eminent anguish of travel delay. The hellish effort is also supported by the commitments I have made for meetings, a party planned for Wednesday night, and a video shoot for a friend on Thursday. It is an action packed week that may or may not happen. My hopes of being in the world’s greatest city while it is crippled by snow are driving me forward. I hope I get there. I hope to make the best of it. I hope once more to stand under the bright lights of Times Square as snowflakes fall and melt on my tongue.

If I get to LA, my options open up quite a bit. If I miss today’s flights to NYC, I can stay overnight and meet Marilyn and Sparkles for dinner. They are in town for Carnival dress rehearsal and a video shoot. I feel like even if I loose I will win. The film crew is scheduled to fly to NYC on Tuesday anyway. I can head out with them and even fly to DC or Philly and take the train in if necessary. One way or another, I will get there.

Happy New Year