by Donna Swagerty Stupid
2012
I have always believed that we are allowed to make mistakes, but that we should make an effort to learn from our errors and avoid them in the future. I had just completed a seventeen day trip to Europe. I had ended my tour in Munich, Germany and was planning on spending a few days with my oldest son and his family. Somehow in my exhausted state, I missed my return flight and was now stuck at the mercy of the airlines. I finally got a new flight that left two days after my originally scheduled departure.
I have never been able to sleep on an airplane so my long flight just added to my fatigue. I was recovering from a wrenched knee, which had made parts of my European tour challenging. Culminating my exhausting trip was the long flight to the east coast, which itself had also been delayed a few hours.
I finally arrived at JFK airport late at night. The customs personnel had to stay later than usual and wait for our delayed flight to arrive. We were encouraged to hurry up to the luggage area and then to customs where we were not checked that carefully. I just wanted to get a taxi and get to my friend’s apartment in Manhattan and sleep for a long time.
As I left the luggage area, I headed for the long line of passengers waiting for the next taxi. I was exhausted! A well-dressed man approached me as I got to the end of the queue. He said he could take me to where I wanted to go right then without a wait, and I would travel in a town car.
I must have hesitated long enough for the man to think he could take charge. I am not sure I even consented. He grabbed my suitcase and told me to follow him across the street. I numbly followed like an obedient puppy. There across the street sat a sleek town car waiting for us. After asking where I wanted to go, he put my suitcase quickly into the trunk and opened the rear door for me to get into the car.
As soon as he opened his driver’s door, his friend jumped into the front passenger seat. Oh dear God, what had I done? I hadn’t really noticed before but now I was awake and saw that they were both youngish, as in their thirties, and definitely Middle Eastern. My second clue presented itself when they spoke to each other in a foreign language.
Quickly I considered my options now that we were on the turnpike heading for Manhattan. I could open the back door and jump and hope I didn’t kill myself. When we got to the toll-booth, I considered jumping at that moment as the car slowed down. I gave that up because I would be leaving behind all of my belongings and I could not be sure they were up to kidnapping or killing.
I usually travel in and out of LaGuardia airport, which is closer to my friend’s apartment in the Murray Hill area. This trip was taking much longer as I had flown into JFK airport, which is farther up the island. Fortunately my friend had told me the usual fare from JFK, which also would be more than I was used to.
By some miracle, we arrived at the appropriate address without any bodily harm done to me, nor any loss of my personal items. As the driver got out and retrieved my suitcase, his friend demanded $100 for my ride. I replied that I was aware of the usual fare and that I was giving them $75 and that they should feel lucky to get even that much. I had my money ready and had the passenger door partly open. I gave him the money and dashed to the awaiting doorman.
I had survived! The doorman mercifully got my suitcase to the elevator and up I headed. I had a key to my friend’s apartment but she was worried about me and had waited up. She took one look at me and poured a glass of wine for both of us. I told her my tale and she gasped at several points.
The two of us grew up together in Stockton and I have referred to myself as the country mouse, while she is the city mouse. She was appalled I had let myself get taken in so easily. It took a while before I confessed to family about my adventure. As I get older and still insist on travelling, I concentrate on remaining vigilant, and on never letting myself get so tired that I travel stupid.
792 words
2/18/17
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 