Day 0 (In-Flight and In Flight!)

July 24, 2011

"We all have a legacy--There's something bigger to my recovery than just me." --Victor Frankel

It is 1:30 when the plane lands in Seattle, SEATAC airport. To my left is a Chinese man who says very little, and to my right, an older hispanic woman who sleeps the whole flight. She also closes her window, so I cannot see the landscape change. as I saw from, Dallas to Phoenix--a sight which was breathtaking and sobering.

This was the bad flight, because it was becoming rougher the closer I got to Washington. For a moment, I could see that there was something wrong with me. This was real and I had wanted to lose myself in the idea that I was an ordinary tourist or traveler like the others around me. In Pheonix, I roamed the airport, waiting for the next flight. I perused the flights, stared at a 200 dollar silk tie, walked through the nearby Borders book store which was closing soon. I ate a steak sandwhich and stared out across the barren landscape of Pheonix. Dust clouds roll across the landscape. Giant brown rocks littered the landscape in patches, like giant pimples, but the city and the landscape look up to meet me, the landscape echoes me. Desolation, and dry despair but I am here, and already I feel like Sherman Alexie and the story, this is what its like to say Phoenix, Arizona. In his story, Victor Joseph is going to find his father. In my story, I am going to find myself and heal myself.

The airport is busy. My phone is at half-battery. I've pretended this wasn't happening the whole trip, but it's getting more real, the closer I get to Washington. A long dry wind surrounds me and I am still in the airport.