Wheels Up

 

 

 

On the intercom, the captain explained that he was finally getting instructions to taxi. We had been sitting in our ever-less-comfortable seats for more than an hour. It was getting pretty close in the cabin. About a hundred and eighty of us, sweltering on the loaded plane.

 

We started to move, the whoosh of the engines a welcome sign of our departure. There was a break in the clouds and we were making a run for it. The weather scene all the way to Viet Nam was going to be filled with periods of bumps and rain, but nothing to be concerned about.

 

Our veteran Flight Attendants, perhaps five of them, got out of their seats as soon as we got to altitude. For many of us, they would be the last American women we would see for a year. The oddities of military flight rarely involve warm, caring offers of a blanket or a cup of coffee. Having ferried so many others to war, the smiles carved on their faces hid their concern.

 

The Captain was right about things. For the first couple of hours.

 

Then. The Storm.

 

Like a B-29 in a Hollywood re-make, we shook and shimmied, raised and dropped, and got to know nauseous in a new and personal way.

 

Even our stalwart F/A's were forced back into their seats.

 

It got hairy.

 

 

Somehow, we made it. Still in one piece. After a no-sleep, perilous journey. Dawn came a couple hundred miles out from Da Nang. And with it, clear skies. Welcome sun.

 

Being a rookie at this war thing, I felt a tinge of fear when I saw fires on the hills below, as we approached our destination. Thinking that they were from bombs or something, I was relieved when the Captain told us they were there as navigation aids.

 

The wheels hit the runway in an odd way. We bounced and landed again, more firmly.

 

For the second time on a recent flight, we broke into applause.

 

The plane rolled to a stop.

 

The Captain, calm as ever, came on one last time.

 

"Gentlemen. Given the circumstances, I predict that things will go well for you here."

 

We looked at one another.

 

"Remember all that rain and grief back there...?"

 

It didn't require an answer.

 

"Well. That was Typhoon Ruby."

 

He paused.

 

"And I just landed this plane by the seat of my pants. We were struck by lightning and lost some of our hydraulics. Not all. That's why we're here. Safe. On the ground."