Just my glorious luck. Another flight delayed. This time I wasted my hours away in the cold Philly International Airport. Last time it was in Portland due to bad weather. But this delay came with no explanation. Something “eventful” must have happened on a previous leg, pushing the entire schedule back.
But no worries, I was off to Chicago! Home of the deep dish, funny people, and that bean thing.
Oh, and that egomaniac.
I was going to see my beautiful friends, Peter and Patricia, get married. So any delay was gonna be well worth the fun to be had the following day.
An hour passed and I was already getting restless, wishing I booked one of the many earlier flights departing for Chi-town. Two hours, three…This airport is driving my crazy!
12:30AM our plane finally arrived and all the crazies struggled to be first in line. First in line to a destination which we would all arrive at, at the same time. Never get why people rush to board.
Taxi, taxi, taxi. The runway was lit up with all different types of blues, greens, yellows, and reds. A light show extending out into the vast darkness. And then I felt those G’s grabbing at my chest.
Liftoff.
Ahh, I can rest easy now. Maybe get a quick nap in before we arrive. Too late, Curiosity and Wonder widened both of my eyes to the sight below.
The Grid of Philadelphia.
The system lit up in a series of oranges and greens, all power surging to the dark, glassy, reflective city center. The Comcast building standing tall like the I/O Tower in Tron.
As we passed over the city, the grid fused into one thick artery-vein leading into the next major cluster, and the next, and the next; in all directions. It was digital, organic, and interstellar all at the same time. I was looking down into the Stars instead of up above. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
And I didn’t sleep at all during the flight.
When you’re down to Earth, down in the “system” it can sometimes feel like everything that happens around you, effects just you. My flight was late, the traffic getting to the airport was insane, and the day was overall stressful. ‘Why me?’ I kept thinking. But when I finally took off, I could zoom out on my problems. I saw the whole machine working together, and was once again reminded that it’s not all about me.
Us.
This post was partly inspired by the weird and wonderful words of Abraham Hicks, sampled by DOOM at the end of “Caskets” (fast forward to 2:52)
Tales of a Rōnin 