We were preparing to move back to the East Coast ( South Carolina ) after our first of two eight year runs out in the Pacific Northwest.
I was working in Bellevue, Washington for Publishers Circulation Fullfillment, the company that handled the New York Times on the west coast.
The cheapest way to get over to Hilton Head Island at that time was a red-eye flight ✈️ from Sea-Tac Airport into Charleston, South Carolina. Northwest Airlines is no longer around, but I had a ticket on their overnight flight to Detroit with a connection to Charleston.
Just hours away from boarding the flight ✈️, I received a phone call from my boss at the time, telling me that there was a mandatory training session taking place as we were upgrading our computer 🖥 system.
The move back to the east coast meant that my job was about the end shortly, and money was tight, so the natural thought process was to board the flight anyway.
The absolute lack of funds in the checking account made the final decision to skip the flight ✈️ and report back to work.
The ticket was non-refundable, and as the statement validates, it reached Detroit without issue. While the connection was not one of the four flights that changed our World forever, it was one of so many that were deverted to the closest airport along the way.
The following days were dramatic from the comfort of our own homes. The thought of having to find an alternative way back to Washington would have been more difficult than I could have dealt with at the time. Thousands of people were left to figure out how to get back to their lives during quite possibly the most chaotic period in the history of our Nation.
Northwest Airlines would become part of the current Delta Airlines a few years later, and while many flights ✈️ were taken back then, I remain appreciative of the one that I chose to miss.
As crazy as it was back then, for everyone involved, it is something that touched everyone who lived through it.
Never Forget, indeed !
Apologies to Metropolis, but Greg Bolen is our Superman 🦸♂️ 