Getting there is half the battle

          So I actually did it!  I took a trip on my own with no intention of asking for special treatment.  No pre-boarding or mention of needing assistance.  I was going to prove I don't need help.  

     This trip was one of the biggest learning lessons of my life, and one I will remember for all of eternity.  I have many stories of the awesome things I did, but I have the rest of my life to share them with you. So right now I want to tell you about my journey getting there (by my self).

     First off, I think I mentioned that I was a little concerned about making it through security without ruffling any feathers.  Well the first thing I learned was, that two hour early rule... The Toledo Express airport might be exempt from that. 

      Arriving very early in a huge airport might be beneficial, but at this tiny airport there were only two other people and me in line for security.  Of course my luck, I was ahead of them and I was at risk of ruffling the first of many feathers by making them wait for me.  I figured it would be best to just lay it all out there and avoid any surprises.

     I told the lady I had syringes, my meds, and all of my other bionic devises and asked if she could simply wand me, ex-ray, and do the full pat down just leave me intact, so I didn't need to spend the next 20 minutes re dressing, and packing all over again.  She didn't have a problem with that and asked if it was difficult for me to take my shoes off... knowing she was going to turn me inside out anyway, I figured that was a bonus and said "well, kinda..."  I went through fully intact, with the exception of removing my jacket. 

     The lady behind me said "sleeveless!? me too!" I soon discovered they were in the seats right behind me on the plane to Sunny Fort Myers.  This was cool because now all I had to do was follow their lead and there was no way I could miss my flight.  A thorough pat down and wanding later and I was off. 

      I had finally crossed my first hurdle and up the escalator I went.  When I reached the top I was greeted by Sergeant Richard Gozdowski.  Thinking it's always good to have the law on my side, I decided to start chatting it up with him.  The place was like a ghost town, so he obviously didn't have a lot of fighting crime going on anyway.

     I told him all about my trip being a test, the bike to the bay, and my blog. He was very engaged and seemed to be interested in my long drawn out story, but realizing I was keeping him from his law fighting duties, I told him I better let him get back to his job.  He told me this is what he does.  His job is to make sure the patrons don't have any problems.  Now it makes sense; if he lets me (one of three passengers in the airport) chew his ear off, he knows right where to look if there's trouble:)

     The last thing I did before I went on my merry way was ask if I could take a picture of him for my blog, because I wanted to write about all of the nice and helpful people I encountered on my trip.

     How could he say no to that!?  He removed his jacket, stood at attention, and gave me a stern yet friendly smile.

     After a phone call or two I looked up and noticed the airport was no longer a ghost town, and I knew I needed to assess the situation.  My two new travel buddies were now seated in an ocean of random flyers.  But there was one seat right next to them, so that was where I would plant myself.

     It wasn't long before we were all BFFs and were on a first name basis.  Their names were Dave and Monica.  By the time the flight was boarding I'm sure they would have given me a kidney if I asked:)

     They called our zone (what ever number that was... I eventually found out it was 6...) so Dave and Monica got up, and I was right behind them.  

     Rolling my carry-on with the tote piggybacked on top was a piece of cake going up the ramp, but that 7 pound suitcase became about 30 after I packed three weeks worth of clothes and shoes in it ( I know it was only a three day trip, but you just never know...)  Thinking out loud I said " I just may need a hand hoisting this thing up into the overhead compartment", and immediately Dave told me he would be happy to help. 

      Yes, I said I was going to do this with out asking for help but if I was to drop my luggage on some passenger's head I could end up in one ugly lawsuit and I wanted to avoid that at any cost, so I graciously took him up on his offer.  Then Dave said "actually, I could take that sooner than later", and who was I to argue...

     We were soon on board and eventually made it to Fort Myers unscathed, and my new friends and I parted ways; but not before I asked them for a picture to put in my blog. They too were happy to pose for me, and it was a bonus when I sent them the picture for their own photo collection.

     So I realized "making it" on my own doesn't necessarily mean "doing it" on my own; and If I humbly give in to the kindness of others, then I truly did make it on my own.

Have a great day!!

Christine:)