Greetings!

Aye! You didn’t expect that I would be back so soon, did you? I told you yesterday that I would be touching [bases with] you, sooner than you think, but I guess with my recent record of [non]activity, you ignored those words and truth be told, who could blame you! Anyway, for better or worse, here I am, endeavouring to be faithful in keeping my vow.😊.

I am not sure if you know but I am currently on sabbatical leave: three months away from the routine of work [although I get periodic calls and monitor certain activities]. I am spending the time with family abroad, which necessitated air travel. The journey to my current location was in two parts, each being more than three hours in duration. While the first leg was uneventful, the second challenged my nerves without mercy. You see, at several points throughout the journey, the ride, so to speak, got rather bumpy, hitting a number of air pockets, as the pilot steered the craft, through turbulent weather. That, I was able to handle, seasoned traveller that I believe myself to be. It was this other aspect of the journey, however, that necessitated several frantic conversations, with my maker.

Imagine with me if you will. We are still within the parameters of a pandemic; although many restrictions have been lifted, discretion with respect to hygienic safety, is not optional. To cut a long story short, I was sitting in the middle seat on this flight of six plus hours, a young woman to my left, obviously suffering from intense fatigue, judging from the number of times and at very short intervals, that she yawned, jaws opened so wide, as if impersonating a hippo. Oh, and by the way, there was no mask visible on her person for the entire flight.

Then, there was the man to my right, a study, if ever there was one, in psychosocial personality disorders! His mask, worn under his chin, was donned only after several fits of coughing, which made me twitch uncomfortably in my seat. When eventually, the message of my increasing discomfort was transmitted, said mask was placed over his nose and mouth, whereupon he began a conversation [muffled by the mask] with the actors in the movie he was watching, courtesy of the airline. At first, I thought that what I was hearing, was actually coming from the movie; however, upon closer examination [peering through my side eye, my head facing forward], I observed that not only was he the one cussing [literally] at one of the actors, but one of his feet was mimicking the muffled expletives coming from behind his mask. Did I say that I was mortified! My ears were stunned, even as my eyes verified what they heard.

In Jamaica, back when as children we would go to watch cowboy movies, we would observe with glee, those who would always ketch feeva, literally thumping and kicking imaginary villains or dodging bullets. Well believe me, I am a priest, I wouldn’t lie, this man made ketching feeva look tame! I began to pray earnestly that he wouldn’t look at the ample black woman to his left and assume he could make real his imaginary opponent, and send me to my maker, before the plane landed.

Wiet di stoari nuh dun! When the announcement that the plane would be making its final descent into the airport, and all that jazz about tray tables and seats returned to their upright and locked position, and seat belts securely fastened, was made, my boy drew out an old briefcase he had stashed under the seat in front of him and proceeded to shove into it, papers that he had been perusing before the movie occupied his attention. Well, I am no psychoanalyst, but I believe my airline neighbour suffers from schizophrenia. The anger he held towards the movie’s villain, was suddenly transferred to the papers, and I breathed a soft but urgent prayer of thanks to God!

The man opened the zipper of the briefcase as if he intended to rip it apart; he then shoved, hauled out and re-shoved the papers into the unwitting satchel with such force, I am still wondering how both the case and papers, never came apart. To add insult to injury, when he finally zipped the case closed, he flung it to the floor as if to say… ‘Yu tink mi aa joak wid yuh…muuv frahn desso if yu bad!!!’ All this time your girl sat, very much like the seat – in an upright and locked position – my heart thumping so loudly in my own ear, I wondered whether the yawner heard it and thought I was on the verge of a coronary.

Finally, the plane landed and once at the gate, I allowed the yawner to step over my legs to pass me, telling her that as a wheelchair passenger, I would take a while to disembark. She squeezed by with a smile that said, “thank you”. Turning gingerly toward the cowboy, now standing in the aisle, and trying desperately not to meet his eyes, my ears heard what my brain took some time to register… “Is this black bag yours, ma’am; would you like me to take it down for you?’ My voice sounded strange to my own ears. “Yes,” I replied and then hurriedly, “thank you.” He smiled as he retrieved and set my bag down on the seat he had vacated, and walked off without another word, toward the plane’s door,

So, when I tell you to keep safe and well as you remain in the grip of the Eternal Father, chuss mi, mi noa weh mi aa seh!

Blessings,

Grace+