I did not plan on writing in My Current Situation series so soon because I wanted to wait until I had my hearing test and the results had come back and I wanted to wait for the appointment with my APRN to review the results of my 30 day’s worth of blood pressure pills (to see if I truly had a blood pressure problem). However, 3 days ago I had an eye emergency which changed everything.
To play it back, in 2024 (2 years ago) I called my eye doctor’s office to schedule an eye exam for the first time since the Covid Pandemic of 2020. I made this eye appointment because I was seeing floaters in my right eye, “small specks, dots, circles, lines, or cobwebs in your field of vision – although floaters appear to be in front of the eye, they are actually floating in the vitreous fluid inside the eye.” The eye care doctor’s office front desk receptionist asked what took me so long to schedule an eye appointment and I told her in all transparency that no one in their office had pinged me since the onset of the 2020 Pandemic and I hadn’t honestly really thought about my eye health. My bad…
As it turned out the eye appointment I had in 2024 for the floaters in my right eye was not at all that serious because after my eye was dilated, the eye doctor was able to see that all I needed for these floaters were prescription eye drops.
Now 2 years later in this scenario the floaters (a long black curly string) were in my left eye and more of a nuisance than anything else. On the second day this piece of curly black string had turned into tiny black dots which appeared one at a time but were forming a starry sky. My inner voice urged me to call the eye doctor. I originally wasn’t going to call because I thought this is what happened before and the remedy was eye drops but something said, Call. So I called and told the eye care doctor’s office front desk receptionist what happened and she said she needed to speak with the clinician because they may ask you to come in today and I said why can’t it wait until Monday and she said if its a retina tear, which it sounds like it could be, we would be condoning you not coming in which could lead to a bigger problem. Sure enough the clinician called me back within 5 minutes and said I needed to come in as soon as possible. They scheduled my appointment on that same day for 1245p. I reluctantly cancelled an upcoming client lunch at Solun Restaurant in Woodbridge with one of my favs and went to the eye doctor’s office in Hamden, CT.
After getting and A-cing an initial eye test my left eye was then dilated so the eye doctor could examine it. What he discovered unfortunately were 2 retinal tears in my left eye! He told me and the technician that this was a very serious case and it would need to be dealt with today. He asked the technician to have the front office girls call around to see which eye surgeon could get me in on a Friday. The only office that had an opening (or was even open on a Friday) was in Trumbull, CT which is only 25 minutes away (with no traffic) from Hamden but it was a Friday…so traffic central…
I drove myself home to North Haven so that James, my partner in love could drive me to the eye surgeon’s Trumbull office. It was crowded there with mostly middle-aged and elderly people. I filled out the necessary paperwork and was seen by a technician within a half hour. My left eye was dilated and afterwards another technician examined me then sent me back to the waiting room. The longest wait was getting in to see the eye surgeon who had multiple eye surgeries stacked up in front of mine.
I tried to read and send text messages to kill time but my vision was too blurry from the recent dilation and my eye felt heavy.
This is how much time we still had, James was able to go eat lunch and make it back before I even got into see the eye surgeon (smile).
Ignorance is bliss though because I can honestly say had I known what was coming up, I probably would have bolted from the waiting room. Not for nothing, the eye surgeon did explain what he was going to do to numb the left eye but I don’t think I grasped the severity of it even when I saw him in front of me with a long needle in his hand. I will not share pictures of this scene because they are not pleasant to look at. I will say that having had a literal needle in my eye caused me to feel nauseous and limp with pain. Even though the poking seemed to go on forever, the next process, which was the my left eye literally being exposed over and over and over again to a blinding light, made me feel like I was going to vomit for sure. My head was splitting from this light and at one point, as the doctor promised, I could only see black where my left eye was situated which was real scary. But even with only seeing black out of the left eye, I could still feel the pain from the constant exposure to the blinding light. The surgeon told me the only way he could fix these retinal tears were to “solder” them together. He also told me I may down the road wind up with the same issue in my right eye…
Hoping this is an OTO experience for sure!
That’s not anything I want to even think about right now. I’m just taking it one day at a time.
It’s post-surgery now. I’m home with a splitting headache and a left eye ache. I can do things around the house and I will work from home on my laptop a day or two but thankfully I’m not too too bad off. My eye surgeon said I will still experience floaters for the first 2 weeks and then 2 weeks after that I should be all healed. I should take Tylenol for pain and not lift anything over 10 pounds. I will go back and see him in his Hamden office at that point.
A word to the wise: If you are middle-aged and happen to see floaters or flashes which they say are common as we age, please do get yourself checked out immediately. Let the professionals tell you whether or not these black lines or cobwebs or flashes or dots are serious. I for one am fortunate that I listened to my inner voice on that fateful Friday afternoon or I might not be writing this blog post as we speak…
It’s Hotter than July in the smallish state of Connecticut and right now the residents are inhaling smoke from the Canadian and Minnesota wildfires. Chief Meteorologist Gil Simmons from News Channel 8 in New Haven, CT has been delivering the “Smoke Index” all this week so folks will take the dimmed sunlight seriously. When I’m outside my eyes feel like I am wearing yellow rose colored glasses (smile). But seriously I would much rather be in this position where we are only mildly affected by the smoke as opposed to living in a part of a state or country that’s quite literally on fire…yikes!
Are these sunglasses really yellow rose colored?!?
The other strange phenomenon this month is that suddenly eating lettuce, some fresh produce, vegetables and herbs has become risky business. Wait, what?!?
I live for my once-a-week salad with protein (smile)
By consuming these foods you may come down with Cyclosporiasis which is caused by a parasite that is found in the above mentioned foods. To combat catching Cyclosporiasis, we are being asked to wash our fruits and vegetables thoroughly or cook our vegetables at high levels of heat to kill the parasite. Otherwise we may wind up on the toilet for an inexplicable amount of time (smile).
My iPhone goes with me everywhere (smile)
Gas in Connecticut is a tiny bit below $4.00 a gallon which is not saying much considering it averaged just $3.15 a gallon this time last year. The job market is dependent on what industry you are in. Healthcare is booming but in the media industry jobs continue to fall by the wayside due to mergers and acquisitions. I am so thankful and blessed that I have been working in the media industry now for almost 40 years so things for me are starting to wind down…
Health wise I just found out from my new APRN (no more Primary Care doctors now, just APRNs as apparently they are more plentiful in Connecticut) that I have high blood pressure so she prescribed Amlodipine (5mg a day for 30 days) at the end of which we will see whether I can stop taking the pills altogether or continue on for an indefinite period of time. This diagnosis came out of an Echocardiogram test that I received as part of my full physical a month and a half ago. It showed that I may have leaky heart valves. Keep in mind that this is no doubt a family medical history diagnosis as this girl works out 5 days a week at Orangetheory Fitness Center in Hamden, CT, she quit drinking wine 6 years ago, she doesn’t indulge in drugs, she quit smoking cigarettes 30+ years ago and she eats clean most days (smile).
My heart feels fine to me (smile)
Here’s where I’m at hobby wise: In my last blog post I mentioned that I had taken up reading non-fiction books for the Summer and after reading Elin Hildebrand’s Paradise series I promptly booked a trip to St. Thomas, USVI with my partner in love (smile). So now I just finished reading Kennedy Ryan’s Hollywood Renaissance series and I could not, for the life of me, put these books down! Ryan’s writing is so relatable and I learn so much about a new health issue every time I read one of her books. She is truly an award-winning author!
Reading is still my jam!
Other than that I am living my life, trying not to take myself too seriously and keeping in touch with my loved ones as no one is promised anything, most of all time.
In my latest blog post Back to Broadcast Media Sales! of the Broadcast and Media Industry series, I ended with how much the media industry has changed over the past 35+ years and how it continues to evolve due to the impact of the internet and streaming channels. You should really read the aforementioned blog post before you continue with this one…
But I need to back up now because my real beginning in the Media industry was at the tender age of 22 at a community led public broadcast TV station in Bridgeport, CT.
I graduated from college back in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. Media Studies was an interesting field because we were taught a little bit about different media industries such as Public Relations, Television, Radio, Newspaper, Magazines and Photography. It was just enough to peak your interest in what you might want to pursue further. In my case I was fascinated my both Broadcast Television and Broadcast Radio.
However, once I earned my college degree, I continued to work the next 3 to 4 months in the same sales support position I held in college. It was at a Bridgeport, CT financial services firm. I also continued with my internship from the Summer before where I worked at a Bridgeport, CT Public Broadcasting TV station for a Minister from a local African American Baptist church. Minister John and I collaborated on this gospel TV show called Lifeline Gospel Videos. He was the host of the show and I was responsible for interviewing gospel artists over the telephone, writing up and editing their biographical stories and broadcasting these stories on air in 2 to 3 minute increments. My segment was called Bio-Line Gospel Videos. And it took me all week long to write, create, produce and serve as the talent for one segment. This was back in the 80s so the videos stories were saved on Betacam and converted to VHS for home use. Working on these video stories with the gospel artists was truly a labor of love. I am particularly fascinated by everyday peoples’ stories and I also love to share them with others so this opportunity was Win/Win. What wasn’t Win/Win was that this was an internship so I did not get paid one thin dime and as much as I loved my job, it did not pay the rent or the bills so consequently when it came time to put in my notice to the financial services firm so I had time to devote to the field I just earned a degree in, I quickly shed the public broadcasting TV station internship as well.
In my mind I was still on the right track though as the goal post college was to gain as much experience in the media industry as possible so by starting early with the Public Broadcasting TV gig, I had a little leg up on building my resume. I called myself being “paid in experience” so I could command a certain salary for when I entered the field of Media. In my opinion, back in the 80s, the media industry was like a closed fist. There were lots and lots of people looking to get in and very few openings. So it took a lot to pry open that “fist” and receive an open position (and this was both behind the scenes and in front of the scenes) as the demand exceeded the supply. And this was at a time where the pay scale in Media (especially for behind the scenes positions) was extremely low but this did not deter people from trying to get into what was perceived as the “glamour field.”
As I mentioned, post college was when I discovered that living in Bridgeport, CT was not working for me anymore as I needed to be closer to a TV station and the closest, WTNH “Action News 8,” was located in New Haven, CT. As luck with have it, my sister Casandra and her husband Alfredo were living in New Haven, CT at the time. They had not yet purchased their forever home in Ledyard, CT so they were living in a large 2 bedroom apartment in the Edgewood neighborhood. I asked Casandra (since my plans of moving to the Washington, DC area after college and working in Media recently imploded) if I could stay with her and Alfredo until I got on my feet and they both graciously agreed. I stayed with the two of them all Summer long rent free while looking for work as well as looking for an apartment. Casandra was instrumental in finding me my first apartment, a Studio apartment on Whitney Avenue in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, CT. The rent was $375 a month plus utilities for essentially one large room with a teeny tiny kitchenette, a teeny tiny dining area and a separate full bathroom. I bought a tiny dining table and chairs for the dining area, a daybed for the living area because it served the dual purpose of a couch in the daytime and a bed at night. The kitchenette was way too small to fit in any furniture. Oh and yes, housing was very affordable back then and this unit was perfect for me (smile).
My apartment was located right on a bus line which was ideal because my car had died on the Merritt Parkway earlier that Summer and I really had no other way to get around.
As far as work, I chose to register with an employment agency so I could make money while focusing on finding a job in Media. Right after registering, I was sent by the agency the following day to Easter Seals Goodwill Industries in New Haven, CT to work as a Job Coach. As it turned out, the supervisors and Administrators loved me so much that they tried to convince me to stay and make a career of it. I made it clear to them that I was on a mission to break into the Media industry and nothing was going to get in my way (smile). I liked everyone there and I believed in their mission but not working in media was not an option (double smile).
As luck would have it, a few months down the road I spied a Want Ad in the Classifieds section of the New Haven Register newspaper for a Local Sales Assistant at WTNH Action News 8! I was overqualified so of course I got the job (smile).
I was elated. This was my first entry into Broadcast Media as well as my first real paying job in the Broadcast Media industry so life was good – for reference please read My Entry into Broadcast Media Sales.
In the next entry of the Broadcast and Media industry blog post series I will chat about the differences between working in the sales departments of Print Media, Broadcast TV and Broadcast Radio stations.
We are roughly one month away from the end of the year – another year flying by way too quickly. And, as it turns out, my birthday (Valentine’s Day which falls on the second holiday of the New year) is quickly approaching. So I will turn 64 years old on February 14th, 2026 God willing. Which brings me to my dilemma. I don’t consider myself a Senior Citizen. And I say it with a straight face (smile).
Technically speaking I am not yet a Senior Citizen since the state of Connecticut defines a Senior Citizen as a state resident who is 65 years or older in terms of program eligibility like Social Security, Property Tax Relief, Medicare and other state aid.
Don’t call me a Senior!
There are, however, some programs and/or services in the state of Connecticut which consider 55as the starting age. As a matter of fact 13 years ago when I turned 50, AARP had thenerve to send me an unsolicited membership card! I tossed it in the trash (smile). Clearly they had confused me with my next door neighbor who, at that time in my life, was most certainly a Senior Citizen (smile).
I am not my next door neighbor
Another thing. My name Le Jeune means ‘The Young’ in French so that might have something to do with my age obsession (smile). True story: While reading Jet magazine, my late mother Jean found my name attached to a very popular African American model who had just won an award in Cannes, France. The model’s name was Le Jeune Hundley and, as it turned out, she traveled to France because it was easier for a black woman from the United States to find modeling work in France then it was in the U.S. At any rate my mother loved the name, but changed the first E to an A, dropped the capital in J, closed the letters together and Voila! named me (her 5th daughter) after this model. Here is a picture of Le Jeune Hundley on the cover of Jet magazine:
By the way her name was misspelled here by Jet Magazine…
Another concern of mine is that scientists have identified the 5 stages of the human brain and 66 (or the mid-60s) is when the so-called Early Aging phase begins. This is the phase when people face increased risk for a variety of health conditions that can affect the brain, such as hypertension. Hence why I wake up 5 days a week at the crack of dawn (430am) to work out from 5am to 6am at Orangetheory Fitness in Hamden. I’m usually one of the oldest members in my class but I can still keep up with everyone (smile).
I am truly an Early Bird
And also why I (as of the Covid Pandemic of 2020) completely cut alcohol (in my case – Wine) out of my life and continue to work very hard to eat clean and nutritious meals. It can be harsh (especially around the holidays) so I allow myself to cheat from time to time. Like the other day when I went with my girlfriends Sherry and Thais to see Wicked 2 at the Cinemark movie theater and treated myself to a Medium popcorn with extra movie theater butter (smile).
I truly believe life is for living and I have reiterated it as much in more than one of my previously written blog posts. I will continue to notact my age and just enjoy life to the fullest. So unless I am getting a serious Senior Citizen discount, you will not know when I am in fact a Senior Citizen.
I was born in a blizzard in Newport, RI on Valentines Day, 1962 so it comes as no surprise to anyone that I have spent the majority of my birthdays bundled up in winter coats, gloves, scarves and snow boots. So this year, as my 63rd Vday Bday was fast approaching, I decided to switch things up and spend my special day sunbathing in the United States Virgin Islands.
For our 7 days/6 nights island getaway, James and I departed Bradley International Airport on Sunday February 9th and returned on Saturday February 15th. By the way, it snowed in Connecticut both ways (smile).
St. Thomas was our island dream destination, but we had previously discussed that while on this island we would travel by ferry on day trips throughout the week to both St. Johns, USVI and Jost Van Dyke, BVI. My mother-in-law Irene, who was born in St. Thomas but grew up in Jost Van Dyke, reminded us to bring our passports. I’m so glad she did as we would not have gotten on that island without them. Jost Van Dyke is part of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) so you need your passport to get through Customs and Immigration.
We rented a car for this vacation which we picked up at the airport (it makes sense to rent a car on St. Thomas because there are no Ubers or Lyfts and taxis can get pretty pricey pretty quick) and James drove us on the wrong side of the road (smile) to our hotel, the Island View Guesthouse. We normally stay in resorts when we travel to tropical islands and if necessary, we get around by Uber or Lyft so it felt different staying in an actual hotel and using a rental car. What really sold me on this particular hotel was the free daily breakfasts, plus the hotel’s proximity to downtown Charlotte Amalie which featured a waterfront, local shops and restaurants and nearby beaches.
Our rental car in St. Thomas – a brand new 2025 Nissan Sentra
Our hotel suite at the Island View Guesthouse – a funny story – not so funny at the time…
Since I used a 3rd party app (Expedia) to book our travel, I chose the bundle package which in our case consisted of airfare (United Airlines), a hotel (the Island View Guesthouse) and a car (Budget Car Rental). I would not recommend using a 3rd party app to book your travel anywhere because as I found out from Libby, the friendly and accessible owner of the Island View Guesthouse, the 3rd party app folks take 20 to 30 percent off the top of your bundle packages which in my case meant we were put into the tiniest room at the hotel with no amenities and the car we rented came without GPS. James quickly took care of the hotel room issue the very next morning when he had a talk with Eileen, the Island View Guesthouse Manager. Eileen was a dream – she not only upgraded us to the largest suite in the hotel for 3 nights, but she also managed to upgrade us into 2 more spacious hotel rooms over the final 2 nights of our week long vacation. Libby, the hotel owner, arrived with her Executive Chef Husband Marshall on the Wednesday of our vacation and ensured that the remainder of my Vday Bday week went off without a hitch. Libby and I hit it off right away and even shared a similar sober conscious story that begun at the height of the Pandemic. I can’t begin to thank both Eileen the Manager and Libby the Owner for attending to all of our needs and would highly recommend anyone looking to book a hotel on St. Thomas to make their reservations at the boutique style Island View Guesthouse.
The view of Charlotte Amalie from our hotel room window
Sunday — Day 1 – Travel Day
All things considered, the trip to St. Thomas, VI from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, CT was not too shabby. There were no delays and the time spent in the air was, for the most part, uneventful. We flew from Windsor, Connecticut to Washington, D.C. in record time and the same can be said for our 2nd flight from Washington D.C. to St. Thomas, VI.
The very first restaurant we ate at was The Greenhouse – it was okay – popular for tourists because of its location…
My dinner at The Greenhouse – I was starving so anything would have tasted good – and St. Thomas is one hour ahead of Connecticut so I was “hangry” by then (smile)
Monday – Day 2 (Coki Beach at Coral World on St. Thomas)
Coki Beach is a small and very quaint public beach on St. Thomas (one of the 11 beaches on the island!). The sand is silky smooth and the water, crystal clear. We rented a large beach umbrella and 2 beach chair loungers for just $40 dollars. Thank goodness we did because it rained off and on all day with blustery winds. The large umbrella saved us from running back to our car for cover.
All smiles in between the raindrops at Coki Beach
What I could not help but notice at Coki Beach were all of the yachts that were parked in the beautiful crystal blue water annoyingly blocking our view…
Tuesday – Day 3 (Trunk Bay on St. Johns)
The first of two day trips that week was to St. Johns. And everything I heard about it was true. It is truly paradise, the weather was picture perfect and it was not too crowded. We drove to the Red Hook marina to catch our island ferry – the round trip fare was only 16 dollars and the entire ferry ride took all of 20 minutes. We then caught a trolley/cab to Trunk Bay (one of the 10 beaches on the island!) and spent the entire afternoon there. Trunk Bay Beach is gorgeous with fine, silky smooth sand and crystal clear baby blue water. It was 80 degrees outside but the sun did not seem that strong so we laid out on our beach blankets and soaked it up.
Love the contrast of the green mountains against the crystal blue waters
This soft and supple sand feels so good between my toes
James taking a quick nap
The snack bar where we ordered lunch – the food was soooo good! There were outdoor Tiki bars selling exotic drinks but I did not indulge since I gave up alcohol 5 years ago at the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic…
Wednesday – Day 4 – Downtown St. Thomas – Charlotte Amalie (Walking on the Waterfront, Shopping for gear and Lunch at Gladys Restaurant)
Wednesday was primarily a rainy day (way too much rain to dry up on the beach) so we turned it into a shopping day – there are a ton of shops downtown in Charlotte Amalie (mostly local merchants) selling lots of wares. By the way, if you are looking for any kind of jewelry, downtown Charlotte Amalie is the place to be to buy gold, silver and diamonds all in one central area and best of all everything is tax free!
James and I finally seated at Gladys’s Restaurant (smile).
Gladys’s Restaurant did not disappoint – I all but inhaled the brown stew chicken, plantains, fresh cabbage and peas and rice!
Thursday – Day 5 (Magens Bay Beach on St. Thomas)
We spent our 2nd to last day at Magens Bay Beach which had come well recommended by the trip advisors. It truly is a beautiful must see and do beach. Magens Bay was super crowded the day we arrived with rows and rows of beach chairs and umbrellas lined up in formation. There was also a sun and surf rental shop, a souvenir shop and an indoor/outdoor bar and grille. Lots going on. We were in the mood for peace and quiet that day so we headed further down the mile long beach where there were no beach chairs, and very few people. Another well thought out idea…
That evening we went out for a late dinner in downtown Charlotte Amalie to a restaurant that was recommended by one of the locals in town. It was called the Sugarcane Grille at Bunker Hill. It was way up a hill on a narrow winding road with no parking. We lucked out though because we managed to squeeze our rental car into a tight space. The restaurant was so cute. We had to walk a bunch of stairs to get there but at the top was the dining room with a view of a well-lit swimming pool. The food was awesome. Our super friendly waiter even talked me into a delish mocktail made with Ginger, yummy!
Love the ambience in the dining room and the Caribbean dishes were delish!
Friday – Day 6 – My Vday Bday – Jost Van Dykes, British Virgin Islands
We popped out of bed at 530am that morning to catch the 730am ferry leaving from Red Dock marina to Jost Van Dyke, BVI. There are only 3 ferry rides a week to Jost Van Dyke so if you miss one, you have to wait a few days for the next one. It’s much more involved than going to St. Johns. First of all you need your passport. Second it’ll cost you $120 round trip per Adult to ride the ferry plus 10 dollars to enter the island and 20 dollars to exit it. Third, you have 7 hours on the island to spend as you wish and believe me, the time flies by. We spent half the day on White Bay beach which we had to catch a cab from the harbor to get to. White Bay beach was breathtakingly beautiful. I felt like I was in a Hollywood movie because it painted the picture of a true tropical beach scene. There was so much all at once to take in. And the beach wasn’t even crowded!
White Bay beach has beauty written all over it! By far my most favorite beach this week! So happy I got to spend my Valentines Day Birthday there.
I kept pinching myself – I could not believe how beautiful and uncrowded White Bay Beach was!
I had to take a picture in front of Gertrudes – a landmark and treasure – in spite of the perfectly set up photo op (smile)
The second half of our day was spent at Great Harbor – we were on a mission to grab lunch at Pinky’s restaurant and we could not leave without visiting the likes of Foxy’s Restaurant Bar and Grille!
Pinky’s Restaurant was easy to spot – love the Caribbean themed spot and enjoyed meeting and chatting with Pinky herself
Pinky herself cooked us her signature dish while chatting it up
Our official Ferry boat to Jost Van Dyke
Our ferry ride back from St. John to St. Thomas – feeling sunburnt but accomplished
Day 7 – Saturday – Travel Back Home
We purposely took our sweet time on Saturday morning because our flight was not leaving until 3pm and we would not arrive into Connecticut until 12midnight. We realized we had a long day of travel ahead of us which included 3 airplane trips this time around – St. Thomas, Virgin Islands to San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Juan, Puerto Rico to Washington, D.C.; and finally Washington, D.C. to Windsor Locks, CT. We spent the better part of the morning shopping in downtown Charlotte Amalie at one of our fav surf shops, Ocean Surfari, which,lucky for us, was having a huge storewide sale. Then we picked up our lunch at a local grocer. We arrived at the airport at 115pm and dropped off our rental car so we could relax, eat and soak up a little sun before we headed to Cape Air Airlines to check in. This is where the disconnect happened. Neither one of us realized that because we were flying from St. Thomas, VI to San Juan, PR it would be necessary to go through Customs and Immigration so consequently, after we checked in at Cape Air Airlines, we were told to get in line with the rest of the travelers. The said line was super long and wrapped around and around and around the airport about 3 times! I looked at my Fitbit and it said 215pm which meant we had all of 45 minutes to catch our 3pm flight. There was no way in Hell we were going to make that flight. After about 10 minutes panic started to set in and James said ‘why don’t you call Cape Air and see if there is something they can do to get us to the front of the line?’ I looked at my Fitbit again – it was 230pm now and I saw 3 missed calls from Cape Air. I immediately called them back and explained that we were stuck in line and was there anything they could do for us. They said they would send someone to get us but we could not find that person and ended up trying to move through the line ourselves as time was ticking by. I said a quick prayer to God and the rest of the time was a blur as we were pushed and pulled and stopped and started before we found ourselves at the point where you take your shoes off and load your stuff into gray bins. One of the airport workers familiar with our situation stopped us and told us that we were wasting our time, it was 250pm and our plane was now preparing to leave without us. We felt dejected but went through the motions of looking for and finding our original departure gate. When we arrived to that gate an employee mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and told us that this never happens but they had a backup plane outside and a pilot who would get us to San Juan well in time for our Washington, D.C. connection! The pilot had a Cessna 402 and James and I were the only 2 passengers on board. The pilot flew 6500 feet up in the air to San Juan, Puerto Rico in 35 minutes! Not only did we make our next connection to Washington, D.C., but we were only a half hour behind what would have been our original time of arrival to San Juan airport! I thanked God for answering my prayers so quickly and thanked the pilot of Cape Air Airlines for safely flying and landing us.
Too Blessed to be Stressed – at this point of the trip I am still pinching myself as we travel on what is now a tiny aircraft from St. Thomas VI to San Juan, PR – this flight took just 35 minutes and was truly a Godsend…
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