After text messaging with my sister about my new flight information and estimated time of arrival, and then suffering through a 4 1/2 hour flight where I was absolutely exhausted and couldn't really sleep, I finally made it to Seattle. I turned my phone on while we were still taxiing and there was a message from Melanie saying to look for someone to meet me at the gate. Unfortunately, I was near the back of the plane and so it took a while for me to get off. There was a lady with a big Holland America sign with my name on it and I could only get out that I was Tammy before she grabbed my hand and started running. As we were running she tried to explain that we had five minutes to get out of the airport and get a taxi so as not to miss the ship. She also asked for my luggage claim tag and a description of my luggage. I couldn't find the slip while running, but had given her a good description. Then it what was like a relay race, the first lady split off running to check on my luggage and assured me she would take care of it and another lady grabbed the baton (me) and started running and led me outside to the garage area where she ran to a taxi, signed a sheet of paper, explained which pier the taxi driver needed to take me to and almost shoved me in the taxi.
The taxi driver did not appear pleased that he had been "chosen" for this grave and serious mission of trying to get me to the ship before it departed. He complained that traffic was bad we were never going to make it to the ship, and didn't even know why the HAL lady even bothered to try to and get me a taxi, but he said he would drive as fast as possible. (Trust me he did, and I'm not sure I will take a taxi for a while, although I should admit he was more controlled than Mel Gibson's character in Conspiracy Theory but I guess that doesn't take much). We screeched (yes, I mean screeched) up to the pier and the driver urged me to run. There was a guy waiting for me who opened the taxi door and said Ms. Markus right this way, and we walked really fast into the terminal, had a personalized security check bypassed the official security area, and hustled me up the gangplank onto the ship, where I was passed off to another person to expedite my check in. Most embarassing about all of this was that they were conducting a life vest training session for all passengers and they were all on deck, and could obviously see that I was very late, and was getting special attention.
Had it not been for the superb efforts of all HAL personnel involved, (and as I would find out later, the prayers of my relatives) I would not have made it on the ship on time. HAL should be highly commended for their willingness and professionalism to help me make the best of a bad situation.
While I was checking in the phone at the guest desk rang, and I could hear them discussing me, and it turned out that my mother was checking to see if I had made it yet, and he did tell her that I had indeed made it on board the ship just in time-- minus checked luggage.
The ship pulled away on time, and I saw quite a few of my relatives who had also come out to watch the ship pull away, and apparently news travels fast because all of them had to tell me they were so glad that I had made it and were praying for me.
My parents were overjoyed to see me, as they had been extremely stressed out about my misfortune and my sister was in tears because she had been so scared that I was not going to make it.
No comments:
Post a Comment