LAX
Got to LAX and going
through
security when all of a sudden a security guard yells “BRAVO! BRAVO!” and
then
the next yells it passing it along. Everything stops, it’s at a freeze. I
look
around, all us travelers look a bit worried and the airport staff looks
curious. Within a split moment several scenarios run through my head, is
it a
gun? A terrorist? But alas I land on
one. It’s a bomb! It plays out like this; I hit the floor a mere split
second
before the bomb goes off, just like the last episode of 24 but, I don’t
know if
I’ll survive. As this runs through my head I look over to the security
guard standing
next to me and say, “is everything ok?” he looks over at me and says “I
think it’s just a drill. Well, I hope.” I
look over to the area where the warning started. A few guards shuffle
around
and then run off down the hall and a few others look unimpressed. I look
over
again to the guard and joke, “do we need to hit the floor? Cause you
know I will
hit the floor!” I give him a wink and he laughs. Another minute goes by
and I
hear a few travelers getting nervous too. I’m thinking, this could be
it, and I
haven’t even left America.
All of a sudden a yell breaks out and then everything resumes back to
normal,
as if nothing ever happened. Now I know my adventure has officially
started. Yeah
that’s right, first brush with death averted, but now what?! One can
only
imagine….
Now I find myself
sitting at my
gate, I have 2 hours to kill. A lady next to me sneezes, I say bless you
and an
instant friendship blossoms. Her name is O-Young, she’s Chinese but now
lives
in LA. She’s on her way to Hong Kong to visit family. We
get chatting and talk about everything. She says she’s been married
going on 35
years so I jump at the opportunity to ask my favorite question: “What
makes
your marriage work?” Her response is “communication, space, and respect,
but
the key is to always be honest and when something bothers you say it.
Although,
never criticize or argue with your significant other in front of anyone,
keep
that private.” Good advice I say. We’re laughing and bonding, she say’s
she can
see I have a good heart, I say I can see she has a good heart. Her eyes
are
warm and I know this is a moment, a meeting of two strangers that should
be
cherished.
Across from us sit an
older
couple. The husband speaks up and I find out they’re heading to Bali.
They work for a non-profit over there. The wife looks uncanningly
familiar
though but I can’t place it. I tell her that and she shrugs. Another man
sits
down across from me and joins in on our now bustling corner. His name is
Khem,
he lives in Orange County
but is from Nepal.
I learn that we will be sharing the 10 hour layover in Hong Kong
and that makes me happy. Before we all board O-Young says "when we get to Hong Kong I want to treat you to breakfast" I gratefully accept. We plan on meeting up after we land. She stands up to get on board and that was the last time I saw her. I miss my friend.
The flight was a mere 17 hours ;) I watched 3 movies and one documentary and then slept in a peculiar fold. Once we arrived in Hong Kong I was one of the last off the plane due to a much needed bathroom break. I got off searching for my friend O-Young but never found her, perhaps she was searching for me too but we missed paths and I never ran into her again. For the rest of my trip I thought about her and how I missed her.
When I got off though, I ran into Khem and the both of us would roam the airport together for the 10 hours before we boarded our next flight. In those 10 hours we chatted about everything, life, love, family (he was heading to Kathmandu to see his Mum who had become very ill and
was in the hospital), and then just joked around like we were old friends. We jumped online at the free internet stall facebooked away, munched on some wasabi crisps that my friend Theresa gave me for the trip, and then hit a sports bar and got my butt whipped in pool. We then changed his seat so as to sit next to me on our 7 hour flight to KTM.
Once we arrived he had set up 2 rooms for us at a hotel and transport there. We got there and headed to bed. I gave him a hug and told him I'd pray for his mum. That was the last time I saw Khem. The next morning I slipped a note under his door, for the had already left to go to the hospital, and when I got back from exploring I found a note posted on my door his mother had passed away and he had left to go home town Pokhara. I miss Khem! I wish him all the best and hope to run into him again.
