{"id":15560,"date":"2021-02-24T00:30:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T00:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=15560"},"modified":"2021-02-23T19:57:39","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T19:57:39","slug":"happy-flying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/24\/happy-flying\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Flying"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JoEllen Collins<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
JoEllen Collins\u2014a longtime resident of the Wood River Valley\u2014is a teacher, writer, fabric artist, choir member and unabashedly proud grandma known as \u201cBibi Jo.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The concept of happy flying is rare amidst the restrictions and uncertainties of travel during our time of discontent with the pandemic, a situation narrowing our focus and our lives, physically and emotionally.
\nHowever, this past weekend I experienced a day of air travel that proved surprisingly positive.\u00a0As background, it may be helpful to understand why this particular trip seemed so necessary to me. Even with a lifelong pattern of exotic travel and trips to be with loved ones, I haven\u2019t been anywhere since I left California to return home to Idaho in early March of 2020. I was spending that time to be close to family, something I have accomplished most winters, especially since the birth of my grandchildren. I have tried staying with friends for short times, renting Airbnb places, taking advantage of home exchange possibilities, and anything that would let me be there in the winter. (Because I am an aging klutz, winter sports aren\u2019t my forte.) By renting out my Ketchum condo, I am able to afford this break from slippery ice.
\nThis year, however, COVID-19 changed everything\u2026 the desire to travel equaled the fear of catching or giving others the virus. Fortunately, I received the vaccine, tested negative, finalized arrangements with the same renter from last year, and was gifted with frequent-flyer miles from my daughters. Happily, I cleared closets, spiffed up the rest of the condo, and repaired necessary household glitches.
\nThen, about two weeks before my scheduled flight, the ravages of a natural progression of deteriorating spinal components hit me, and doctors determined that the constant though thankfully not extreme pain in my back and left leg was caused by a herniated disk, along with mild scoliosis and the appearance of possible future problems with disks.
\nI received high-quality, caring help from St. Luke\u2019s doctors and decided to fly even if it was uncomfortable.\u00a0So, on Valentine\u2019s Day, I boarded Delta flights to LAX and then SFO, double masked and using a wheelchair, for the first time ever, to navigate what is usually the very crowded and lengthy terminal space at both airports. I didn\u2019t want to do this but decided that I should arrive relatively pain-free as my grandchildren\u2019s Valentine.
\nUpon landing at LAX, I awaited the wheelchair by the off-ramp. After several minutes, the pilot got up from his break in the cockpit to ask me if I needed help.\u00a0He said, \u201cWait right here. I\u2019ll be back.\u201d In a couple of minutes he returned from the terminal with a wheelchair, personally helped me in it and then assisted me to the waiting area, all with a smile. At both airports, the Delta staff were absolutely polite and concerned, and even a nearby passenger offered to help me open a stubborn water bottle. I was reminded of the time of earlier and simpler airline travel.
\nI arrived for my stay with a renewed sense of the possibilities for comfort and positive human connection, even after a horrible 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By JoEllen Collins The concept of happy flying is rare amidst the restrictions and uncertainties of travel during our time of discontent with the pandemic, a situation narrowing our focus and our lives, physically and emotionally. However, this past weekend I experienced a day of air travel that proved surprisingly positive.\u00a0As background, it may be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentary","8":"category-on-lifes-terms"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15561,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15560\/revisions\/15561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}