Wednesday, July 17, 1996

tuesday, july 17th...after 2days of flights: albuquerque - st.louis - nyc - milan...the TWA flight from kennedy airport in new york 2 milan is delayed by 1 1/2 hours...the flight manager doesn't want 2 let me bring my guitar onboard: no space in the overhead bins!! i say, i can put it in a closet, but she replies that that is illegal...i reply, that i do it all the time...she says, it's always illegal...i say, i CANNOT let her have the guitar...i walk 2 the upper deck...she says she will check on me...ah, but the flight attendent on the upper deck likes flamenco + stores the guitar in the little closet...'don't tell the flight manager', he says...i won't, i reply...i sit down + pray that the flight manager will 4get all about me...there are only 2 other people on the upper deck, an american couple flying 2 a wedding in italy...an announcement: we won't have a lot of cabin space 4 luggage, since TWA purchased this aircraft used from Air France + it hasn't been changed 2 the specifications of TWA yet...more delay...maybe the pilots cannot read the french manuals 4 the 747, we joke...well, this plane doesn't even have video, we are told...i point out the overhead video projector...oh, but that never worked...hm, aha, but the engines are supposed 2 work...more delay...a stewardes says, that we will leave soon...i ask, how she knows this + she answers, that the pilots are now pushing a lot of buttons...the steward shows us the safety instructions, but warns us that he hasn't actually gone through them in a long time, 'cause all other planes show safety instruction videos...now i'm 29,000 feet above the ground in this old 747, formerly owned by Air France + i'm helping the stewardess translate the temperature readings of the stove, which are in centigrade... the next morning i arrive @ the hotel in milan, turn on CNN + find out that flight #800, which couldn't have left JFK airport more than 5 or 10 minutes b4 or after our flight, had exploded in midair...what a feeling...i saw some of those people waiting in the terminal!!! 12:00:00 AM    comment [];

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