Month: November 2018

From the vault. Originally appeared January 20, 2018

The statement landed with a thud on the dinner table like, a too hot to handle bowl of mac and cheese. Bradley Ascot looked past his seven-year old daughter, and straight at his wife, Julie. Neither wanted to acknowledge what had been said, so little Madison decided it would be good idea to make her announcement again.

“What about Nana, can she go too?”

The question came from our twelve-year old daughter, Ashley. It was the last thing I needed to think about at the moment.

“Sure,” I said. “Why not? But for now, let’s just focus on enjoying this wonderful Thanksgiving feast. I mean, here we are, all gathered around the table. Thanksgiving dinner, turkey and all the trimmings. It doesn’t get much better than this, right?”

The first sign of trouble was when I clicked on the little “buy” button to purchase a pair of pants. One of those shadowy boxes popped up, the kind that bothers you to sign up for something, or subscribe to a website. Only this one wasn’t asking me to sign up for anything. This one had a message.

Your purchase has been denied. Thank you. Please don’t attempt to shop with us again.

The training for the world’s longest flight had been going smoothly, given that we were in an office tower. Wilson was nodding off next to me. He had gotten up after the imaginary seatbelt light went off, and retrieved his little puffy U-shaped neck pillow from his suitcase. After some adjusting in his seat, he was able to get comfortable and doze off.

It was one-thirty in the afternoon. I should be eating lunch, or maybe sneaking away to the gym. Anything but sitting here in an office chair next to a colleague in a make-believe airplane cabin.