Blast From The Past - Snowed In

 There's absolutely nothing going on... well, at least nothing newsworthy.  

Since there is no news, I will go into my memory bank and share a story with you. 

Back in 1986 my daughter Susan asked me to accompany her to Paris. She needed to model there for awhile so she could get new European photos for her model portfolio. We flew in to Brussels, Belgium (flights were dirt cheap if we did it that way) and continued on to Paris via train. 

Susan with two French friends we got to know on the plane.

They were so helpful to us. 

We girls had done a ton of sightseeing for a week and it was time for me to leave her there.  She was 23, never been to Europe before and didn't speak French. But, I knew that's what she wanted so I had to trust that she would be alright.

We went to the train station and I got settled in my seat on the train to Brussels. I waved goodbye to her as the train pulled out of the station. So, now, I am alone and not speaking the language!! I, however, made the trip just fine. I got to the airport after dark, knowing that my flight wasn't until morning.  So, a night in the airport. I can do this! 

I settled into a seat in the terminal, the airport of course was pretty empty, placed my bag in the seat next to me, crammed my purse behind my back to protect my money, laid my head over on the bag and went to sleep. Sometime during the night I woke up, looked out the big glass windows and saw huge snow flakes coming down ninety to nothing. So, I went back to sleep.

my icy plane sitting on the tarmac in Brussels Belgium.

Yep, you guessed it. Flights were cancelled. I spent the entire day waiting until we could board and head home. Finally the plane left, sometime around 8 p.m. if I remember correctly. By now it has been nearing 30 hours since I had left Paris. 

I got to Newark, N.J. airport only to discover that, of course, I'd missed my flight  home. Nothing to do but wait once again. 

And, wouldn't you know it..... it started snowing in N. J. Must have been a record year for snow all over the globe!!  A real snowglobe. hehe. So, I settled in once more. But, this time, I was dead tired, I needed a hot bath and my toothbrush but I had to wait and wait. Around 7 p.m. they de-iced the plane, boarded us and we slip and slid down the runway and took off into the darkness. 

When I finally got home in Alabama, after my hot bath, I called Susan. She had been petrified that she had put me on the wrong train. After all, she had not heard a word from me for about 48 hours and this was before cell phones! She thought she'd sent her Mama to Siberia or some other awful place. We both were thrilled that I was safe and sound, having survived two snow storms, crossing the Atlantic, long delays in the airport. 

But, man, it was worth it. What a trip and one the both of us will never forget.