Our local flight to Kumasi, takes only forty minutes from Accra. This flight was definitely smoother than the previous one, my sister and I took about a month ago.
That flight scared the life out of us. It brought out the Christians in us all. Some of us prayed quietly digging our nails into our neighbors’ arms and holding on tight, with our eyes tightly closed. Others dug holes in the chairs of the passengers in front of them with their perfectly manicured false nails.
“Jesus, Jesus!” pushed the lady sitting behind me.
The bumpy ride was over in a few minutes, with no apologies from the pilot or flight attendants. No one complained as we were all sighing and relieved the ordeal had ended.
The flight had no more bumps till we had almost landed. Just when we thought it was all over, we sped screeching along the runway.
Everybody was silent just staring at each other worryingly and thinking.
“What is going on now?”
What a way to end this roller coaster of a flight. But before I could blink, we came to an abrupt stop. The force nudging us all forward. No apologies….again!
Everybody had a smirk on their faces and could not wait to get out of this expensive but hair raising flight.
At least this second flight, was smoother, no bumpy parts, screeches and very polite attendants. Of course there had to be a glitch. The pilot whose announcement must have been in a language familiar to him alone, blurted out a long spiel that made us all crack up.
Oh, that must have been scary! Glad everyone was alright. Your repetition of flight crew not apologizing brought in another interesting element to the story.
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Haha Nothing brings strangers together like a bit of turbulence. I’ve met some good people this way through a few seconds of shared emotional distress. I’m glad everyone is okay. This story brought me back.
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Lots of imagery here that I could relate to. It’s funny how such an undeniably safe act as flying can instill fear in all of us. Well written J!
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I looked the way you showed the fear of passengers by saying, “it brought out the Christians in us all.” I’m glad you found something to laugh at. Will you be driving next time?
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I love the physical details, as fingernails dig, bodies push and are flung, eyes close and prayers are said. I also love the humor you bring to your writing, even this piece 🙂
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“Jesus, Jesus!” pushed the lady sitting behind me.
This scene is all too familiar with me. It’s beautiful how you captured this flight in words.
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