When the pilot announced that we would be landing in Detroit instead of JFK, a little chuckle came out my mouth.  It was my own fault getting myself in this predicament.  I knew very well that JFK was closed there was no way for the flight to land.  I should not have let AA put me on this Delta flight at all.  I should have asked to be rebooked to the same AA flight for next day or even two days later and stay in Tokyo.

As soon as I settled into my Hotel room, I started calling AA and Delta. Delta politely told me that the ticket was an AA ticket and I should call AA to see if I could fly out with AA first.  After 2 and half hours on hold for an AA RSP, the RSP just told me to go to the airport to talk to the agent there, then, hung up on me.  I am convinced that if there were a person who wore an AA uniform in front of me at that moment, my fist would have been in his or her face.  It was my own fault again! I knew I shouldn’t fly with American Airlines, but due to the high season issue, I had no choice unless I was willing to pay a higher fare for this trip.  This was the moment I wished I was wealth!

The WIFI connection in this Hotel was unsteady.  I also had no connection for my communicator. Anger was a powerful weapon when things did not go the right way.  The fury made me find a way out.  I called Delta back and explained that it was they who put me here, it was not AA and they needed to send me to my destination. I got a confirmed reservation on a Saturday flight, but that was 5 days away!!  It won’t do!  With a little ingenuity, I got a rental car.

I sent out a last e-mail to my boss to inform him I was driving back, he did not need to worry about the deadline and I hoped he got the message.  I went down to the lobby to see if I could find someone willing to drive to New York with me!  It only took 30 seconds to get 5 people who wanted to drive back with me.  There was no Amtrak, no bus, and a rental car was hard to come by.  HAHA! I was in high demand!

The next morning, I went down to have a very early breakfast before I went to pick up the rental car.  In the breakfast room there were people talking and I struck up a conversation with two Asia girls and one man.  They were talking about going to the airport and staying there till they got a flight, because the airline only paid for one night of a hotel stay.  I mentioned that I had a rental car and was driving back to NY.  The man said “Why don’t you rent a van, so these two girls can go with you? “  I answered that I didn’t think I could change the rental car, and then concentrated on my breakfast.

When I finished my breakfast, I heard the two girls speaking Chinese to each other.  I knew I’d have to take care of them no matter what!  I was wondering why I was in Detroit and why I did not ask to stay in Tokyo.  It was clear to me at the moments; I needed to take care of them. That’s why!

So, one young Spanish gentleman, one lady from Finland, two young Taiwanese girls and I (represented the US) took a road trip in a sedan from Detroit to New York.  How many eons of swirling intertwined karmas did it take to create this trip?  For us to meet then separate till we tangle in our coexisting loops again in the future?  What kind of cause and effect loops had created this moment? I can’t help but wondering! If it took innumerable eons for us to cram into a car for 12 hours, then the longing to meet a matching soul will take how long? Is that why we keep moving around trying to encounter each other? Trying to believe there is hope?

It was an uneventful trip.  Taking turns driving, the passengers sleep, detours, got loss, all the usual road trip occurrences.  We did not take a picture for memory but did exchange phone #’s.  I am wondering is that necessary?  Will we actually contact each other again in this life time?