Boarding Call Part 1

Last night I received a phone call that I have been dreading for over three years now. My brother, who is in Hospice care in Detroit, is nearing the end of his battle with Terminal Brain Cancer. I promptly opened my laptop and booked passage back to Detroit.

As I sit here in the terminal at JIA, I take a long look around me, and scan the people that are sitting at the gate with me. There's that "one in every crowd" lady who remains on her cell phone, on speaker, speaking a different language. There is a delightful old couple who are speaking loudly to each other. There are several people, including me, with laptops open, trying to ignore the fact that the loud old couple have been talking about the speakerphone lady for about 20 minutes now, the old man making hilarious comments, but the lady on her phone has been way to busy to notice.

I am sitting here wondering if there is anyone else around me traveling for the same reason that I am today. Everyone seems to have the same mannerisms, same mentality. "Let's get this over with". I also wonder if anyone else can tell that I am not a very happy go-lucky traveler today. One person sitting a few seats away asked how I was doing today. I answered fine. Why did I lie? I think it's probably because we have all been around that one person, who spreads their tragic story all over a group of people, bringing everyone down around them. I personally can't stand these people, lol SO I am trying hard not to be one.

Perhaps I am just bored out of my mind. This is probably the best explanation of my sudden need to write. Perhaps this is my way of chatting on the phone like the other lady. Perhaps people really don't want to know how the stranger three seats down is really doing.

I have an overwhelming feeling of numbness right now. I feel like perhaps I should be more emotional than I am, but with the last few weeks of ups and downs with my brother, I think maybe my normal cognitive emotions may be broken.

Perhaps I should pretend to be someone else today, like a shower curtain ring salesman.

Boarding call......