Michael's Chronicles: Tampa Airport

 

Michael Thiele is a woodsmith who makes musical instruments and playable furniture. He spends most of his life either in the shop or out on the road buying wood and selling his work at craft shows. In recent years, his travels have begun to inspire his own writing, so he sends me his thoughts.

Jan 22

Here we go again. This Tampa airport has become way too attached to me. As was the case last week, my outbound flight has been delayed by several hours. The end result then was that all flights related to my trip home were canceled. Weather was the culprit. This day it is “equipment repairs.” How encouraging. Hope they get it right. Not quite sold on afterlife blogging.

Apart from that, the art show in Boca over the weekend was a financial success thus salving the previous weekend’s rain plagued flop. I had a great time at both events, which is typical. Rain can ruin my money’s day but not mine. I am not my money.

I am no Pollyanna. I don’t spin bad events to make them less painful. I simply don’t participate. In short, my attitude is that bad days suck. They don’t need my help. I learned this view from my grandfather Hugh when I was very young - perhaps six or seven years old.

I had left my wagon in the driveway, from whence it had rolled downhill into the street and was flattened by a passing truck. He watched me sitting in front of him at his big roll top desk in his office and finally said these words: “Michael, my boy, I’m understanding your wagon has had a bad day. Is this true?” I nodded as I continued to cry. When I had finally ceased sobbing he said something which has stayed with me to this very day, seventy some-odd years later. He said, “Well let me tell you, young man…………. You are not your wagon.” Powerful words from a wise man.

I have come to understand that when my pickup blows a motor in the middle of nowhere on the way to a major show, threatening my participation and by extension my income (and perhaps my mortgage payment), my motor has had a very bad day. But not I. I am not, as that wise man said, my motor. My emotions are not on the menu.

The trip cancellation last week sucked, as I reported. Today’s delay sucks. It’s no fun being airline bait. But I am looking forward to being back in my studio for the next few days, pretending to be Geppetto.

Later