This BLOG was always meant to be about the challenges and difficulties of trying to juggle being a writer AND a flight attendant.
Recently, I let you all in on one particular difficulty I had trying to work on the plane. Well sometimes, it is equally as challenging while on my layovers.
This week, I had a layover in a hotel that hosted a number of baseball teams in town for a large tournament. Well, having traveled as a young softball player, I understand… or at least I try to. However, young people are not the same kids as we were. Oh, trust me… my team had its share of rebel-rousers. And those of you who read this BLOG… you know who you are LOL. But we were tame compared to the kids today! My floor had at least 3 teams housed there. And unfortunately, they were never gone at the same time. Nope, one or all of them were there at all times… all day. I had a nice long day and a half layover (I love these, I generally get a lot of work done). I was up at 7am, went down to grab the breakfast buffet, where I saw approximately 200 young men and boys of varying ages all converged on the restaurant. It took me 2 hours to get and eat my breakfast. I knew then this was going to be difficult working layover. But… also having coached a travel team, I knew they should be out of the hotel soon and heading to the ball fields. In which case I should have several hours to get some badly needed edits completed. Oh; how wrong, I was.
The magnitude of this tournament meant that the staggering of games was spread out through the course of the day… and night. Teams would return to the hotel to “rest and regroup.” Throughout the next 24 hours, I endured (on my hallway alone) firecrackers (those little red poppers that sound like gun shots) with the poor security guards running everywhere trying to find the culprits, three fire alarms at 2am -3am -and again at 4am, an apparent scuffle between two teams that had just played one another earlier in the day, and with the very least of it all… constant noise and ruckus. Trying desperately not to be a “Karen” I called the front desk no less that 4 times begging for some relief. She apologized and offered to move me, but the hotel was full of those little monsters and moving would have made ZERO difference.
In the spirit of… if you can’t beat ‘em join em… and staying outside of my 12-hour window before my flight the next day, I decided to go to the bar and get a glass of wine. A nice smooth Merlot did the trick. And as you would expect, I met a group of parents. We talked “ball” and I sat back and enjoyed the atmosphere… I miss softball and baseball and even though it was a wild layover, it was nice to feel the excitement of tournaments once again. That is until a kid who was down there with his parents, asked me who my favorite baseball player was… I proudly replied “Andre ‘The Hawk’ Dawson. He said… “Who??” I looked at him, shook my head and said, “You’re killing me smalls!” This kid’s face was blank, confused, and having no idea what I was referring to …he replied… “huh?!” His dad was embarrassed beyond belief. As he should be!
Donna Fera
AuthorDonna Fera‘s writing invites readers to explore unknown worlds alongside courageous heroes as they face thrilling challenges and uncover hidden secrets. With a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Donna is able to take her readers on amazing journeys that draw upon her background in research and learning practices. Combined with her experience in the airline industry and special projects, Donna creates stories that captivate readers with their combination of organizational detail and customer service resolution. Join Donna on this remarkable journey!
