Susan Saranwrap

Here was my morning:

I got up at 1:00 am and drove to the airport in Toronto to pick up my mom, aunt, my aunt's boyfriend and their mutual friend Sharon. I parked in the giant lot which was very empty at that time. I drove around looking for an expensive car to park beside. I hate leaving the car alone in the middle of a parking lot or structure. I get worried that if the car really is secretly alive it will get lonely. Also it looks less like a big target.

I walked into Terminal 1 via the long carpeted hallway from the parking structure to the airport. For some reason I love enclosed bridge/hallways at airports or malls or over a downtown city street. If the world dies except for me and there is a Silent Earth situation I may live in one. Actually I would live on the observation deck of the Empire State building, sleeping outside except during the winter or rain. I've thought this through, trust me.

Anyway it was dimly lit down in the area where you wait to see when your loved ones come out. It's set up like a stage with opaque doors so you don't actually get to watch them come down from the carousal area. I sat in a chair at a closed cafe kiosk and read my book on graphic design theory. The board above told me that the flight from Punta Cana landed 15 min early so I figured it was just a matter of moments until they came sleepily out from behind the sliding doors. It's like a tired, disheveled fashion show.

Watching the streams of boring individuals come out I couldn't help but notice two very obvious things:

1. People fucking love... LOVE!... their HBC/Roots olympic CANADA zip-up hoodies.

2. About 80% of every who walks out from behind an opaque door stops one step passed the exit and stares out confused, blocking all of the other people in line who almost always then stop, hold up the line, and glare like idiots. It's the same disease that causes people to stop at the top or bottom of an escalator not thinking about the people behind them that have no where to go. I'm sure some of you reading do this, probably without realizing it. That makes you an inconsiderate asshole, I'm sorry.

So.....

Two hours later and still no family.

I decided about 30 min after the flight had disappeared from arrival board that I should maybe panic. Just a little.

I walked over to an information kiosk and the grouchy lady on the info-phone told me I had to go up to departures and wait in line and talk to a Sunwing representative. I then proceeded the long walk and escalator trek up to the Sunwing check-in area. There were maybe 300 people in the line. Seriously around 300.

I then decided I should probably stay near the arrival in the off chance they all got held up at customs or something. I panickly strutted my way back down and began to search for an airport representative to help me. I eventually found an elderly Asian woman who I think was more of a general wandering employee than she was an information provider. I told her my problems and she asked if my mom used a walker for some reason. She also tried to explain to me that I could find out the flight from the overhead board and that would tell me when the flight would arrive. I explained that I wasn't in fact retarded as she clearly assumed I was. So I tried to explain again and finally she understood and told me I had to find a Sunwing employee and they would be able to help me. I asked why the airport had no emergency measures when people disappear, and why it was up to the airline to help and not security. She didn't understand.

At that point I thought, my mom must have messed up and told me the wrong day. I also thought about how much parking would be and so I began to quickly walk back toward the car. I moved quicker in a panic to save on parking then I did to find the missing fam. Hmmm. I figured parking would have been crazy expensive, like 10 bucks or something. It was $24.00...

I put on my Vetiver playlist which I titled "Vetivish" and drove home to crash. It occurred to me about half way that if there was a problem there would be a message on the phone.

- "Roll on babe, don't you so slow..."

I also thought about how people sometimes just go missing, especially in the Dominican.

- "I would never lay down in your ditch..."

And by the time I got over the Skyway bridge and was in my zone I simply concluded that she had the day wrong and that I would go back tonight again at 1:00 am.

- "This summer I did the back stroke and you know that that's not all..."

There was zero messages on the phone about being stranded at the airport, arrested for smuggling Hatians or pleas for a ransom. Here's what I think happened...

The vacation was planned by my mom's friend Sharon and the itinerary was left up to her. She's not dumb or absent minded or anything but I think when my mom asked when the flight returned was, Sharon said "Monday" 2:30 am. My mom probably took it as meaning Monday morning at 2:30 am even though what Sharon really meant was Monday night/Tuesday Morning. This would be because the flight out of Punta Cana was in the evening and so naturally in her mind she attached the 2:30 am arrival with the Monday evening departure.

Either that or they're all dead. Stay tuned.