I was on my way to Denver to see my son. I had decided to fly because he lives to far away to drive by myself.
Delta Flight 995: Atlanta to Denver is a three and half hour flight. I had just found Gate D10 In Atlanta after taking the underground train from Gate A31. I looked at my printed boarding pass and it said First Class 1C. This didn’t seem like the seat number I had booked in Comfort Plus. Maybe saving my Delta points on my credit card had paid off.
It was time to board the plane. I jumped from the crowded seating area as the horde of eager passengers were wanting to get on the plane. The gate agent announced First Class passengers to board. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking there had been a mistake somewhere and I was going to be shuffled back to my Comfort Plus seat that I had originally booked.
Seat 1C. Row one. It was the first row. The first seat on this Airbus A320 aircraft. As I walked onto the plane I was still expecting to be moved further back in the plane. No, I was in the first row of First Class and my seat was on the isle.
Ok, I had received an email requesting what I wanted to eat a week before travel, but I thought Delta was really going all out for its Comfort Plus passengers. A flight attendant approached with an arm full of white linen towels. She motioned for me to pull my tray table up out of the seat pocket on the side of my seat. The 1C seat is in front against the bulkhead and does not have a pull-down-tray. These trays are beside you neatly folded into the armrest that holds your bottle of water that was waiting for me.
I got my tray table set up and the flight attendant covers the tray with one of those pristine white towels. I had chosen a meal of beef tips, mixed vegetables, salad, and dessert. Could this really be happening?
This had to be a dream. I really enjoyed it. I was going to see my son and I was sitting in First Class.
On the first leg of the flight from Orlando there were several movie options for me, and I chose a very funny movie with crusty old Robert De Niro called About My Father. It was about a father and son relationship. And I was going to be with my son. I related to much of the movie, but the plane landed in Atlanta before I could finish the movie.
But, now I am sitting in First Class section of Flight 995 from Atlanta to Denver, and I was able finish watching the movie About My Father. So, I had about two more hours in the flight, and I pursued the selection of movies. Not many titles were of my liking, but I chose a movie I had seen before. It starred Tom Hanks. The movie was
A Man Called Otto.
A reviewer said the movie was a heartwarming story about love, loss, and life. The main character Otto, played by Tom Hanks, had loss his wife six months prior and he wanted to end his life to join his wife.
In the movie, I wasn’t identifying with wanting to end my life, I was identifying with the major flashbacks of how he met his wife and what their relationship had been. I was openly crying with big tears running down my cheeks. It was a love story that I wanted to be a part of.
The movie was just half over, and I had to use the restroom. Being in seat 1C, I was just a few steps away, so I paused the movie.
As I got up, I looked at the flight attendant who was sitting on her jump seat. She had noticed that I was watching A Man Called Otto and, she said, “I had the same reaction when I saw that movie a couple of days ago.” She had watched it on one of her deadhead flights.
With six steps I got to the bathroom and could hardly squeeze into the space. If you have ever fantasized of