I stepped off the plane in Atlanta almost one week ago at 6:45pm ish Eastern Standard Time. I had a three hour layover until I got my plane to Phoenix.
After being in the islands for a year, the first thing I noticed was the cleanliness of the bathrooms. It was so nice to see the paper toilet covers, the dual toilet paper rolls, the automatic sinks, the automatic soap dispensers, and a clean counter to set my bag down opposite from the sinks.
Next, I walked out and saw a “Life is Good” store. If you haven’t come across this merchandise, visit their web site. They have clever little sayings on tee shirts and their simple smiling character, Jake.
I walked around the store in a daze and decided against shopping.
I took the train 4 stops to the E terminal and got off. The bright lights, clean stores, immediately overwhelmed me. I saw a Starbucks in a book store and walked around. After I glanced around at all the dining options including a deli, a Chili’s, and several bars, I went to my safe place and bought my first Starbuck’s latte since visiting one in Nassau in May. Yes, I have gone nine months without seeing a Starbucks. You see them all over the world, I know, but not in the islands we have visited in recent months: Turks and Caicos, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or in the U.S. or British Virgin Islands.
I bought a latte, a water and an U.S.A. Today. I was excited to see that it only cost 75 cents (although wasn’t it only fifty cents a year ago?) In the islands, they mark up all the magazines substantially and it is pretty rare to even find a current newspaper. Most hotels like the Ritz Carlton and the Wyndham offer a photocopied digest of the New York Times.
So, there I sat for two more hours. I had two books, my Macbook charged up, DVDs, my ipod, a current newspaper, and I could purchase the Internet for unlimited time for only eight bucks. There was a flat screen television with C.N.N. in my gate’s waiting area. We have not watched television for a year – except when we stayed at a hotel, at a condo, at a friend’s house or from a barstool. I really wished I had a cell phone so I could have called H and some friends.
I felt giddy to be back in the glorious U.S.A. – the greatest country in the world - with so many options. I had some weird memories of business travel and I felt a little guilty and strange for not being at a traditional job. But I had a fabulous sign on the plane that confirmed that I am on the right path for my new screenwriting career. When H’s dad and his wife (stepmom?) visited us, they told us about a screen writer named Peter Hedges. He wrote the movie starring Johnny Depp about Gilbert Grape, another called Pieces of April and most recently, he screened a new film called Dan in Real Life in San Angelo, where his dad resides (as well as H’s rents.) T recommended I see the latter two. Sure enough, the movie on the plane was Dan in Real Life. It’s always hard to hear a movie with the other noise on a plane, but it was a cute story and starred one of my favorite comedic actors, Steve Carrell. When I took out my Screenwriting for Dummies book, the flight attendant asked me if I had seen the movie Juno yet and said that it was written in three months. I have been working on my script on and off since Labor Day in my floating office. I am hoping that I will end this trip with a draft that to share with my short list of friends and family who have agreed to take the time to give it a look and share some feedback. If you are interested, drop me a line!
