Introduction. I recently returned from a round-trip flight Baltimore to Albuquerque to attend a training retreat. I had not flown in five years. The last time was in 1999 to Halifax, Nova Scotia via Toronto to receive photography training.

Reasons Grounded.  During those five years I’d not flown for different reasons including the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and retirement at about the same time that eliminated job-related flying. While my friends were flying for vacations and to have new experiences, I found contentment staying at home.

Anxiety. I’d never had any trepidations about flying before, but preparing for this trip to Albuquerque made me anxious.  I wasn’t so much concerned about our plane going down prematurely but I had grown more concerned about the whole process of flying.

There was the parking situation, encountering security, walking long concourse distances, finding the rental car shuttle, acquiring the car, etc. As I’d begun using a cane for walking long distances and had never flown with it, it added to my worries about making it through security, but eventually it made it through after two scans.

Strategies. To prepare, I created a detailed written plan: wake up early, drive to the airport, find a parking space, ride shuttle to the terminal, go through security, walk to the boarding gate, fly, etc. I also talked with friends who were seasoned flyers regarding wearing a mask on board and use of a Global Entry card for security clearance (even though I wasn’t flying internationally).

Execution. On the day of the flight I executed my plan piece by piece to perfection and did fine. As the day progressed, my memories of past flights returned, making everything feel familiar.

The Unknown. Is there irony to this story? Despite my pre-flight concerns being unfounded, an unexpected calamity awaited me in Baltimore. My car, parked on the 6th floor of a garage, had a dead battery late at night. In fact, I couldn’t even get into the car! It’s true what they say about Murphy and his law - he was a conservative - it’s worse or so it felt.

Resolution. Fortunately, my FOB had a small key inside and with a small, mini charger I’d bought the previous winter, I was able to start the car. I drove home without further challenges, feeling satisfied that my worst concerns hadn’t materialized and I managed just fine. As my doctoral dissertation advisor once said, “Ron, things are never as good or as bad as you think”. How true -

Note: I’m looking forward to my next flight in two months.

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