Flight Plan: The Palm Tree Express – A Trip to the Never-Never

(Excerpt) Paradise is usually several time zones—and often a hemisphere—away. For some reason, it’s rarely next door. Most flights to paradise are long; the harder it is to reach, the greater its allure. It is the same thing with Ferraris: their beauty is magnetic, but their price tag puts them on the other side of the world, too.

It is a little before 10 PM when you sit down in your seat, 44A—otherwise known as the poor man’s first class, the Emergency Exit Row. You are relieved it worked out, and you got the seat you expected. It is a little overwhelming that you are finally on a plane that will take you to paradise!

It is like you’re watching a film, or even more so, it is like you’re an actor in a scene watching the other passengers board—you can see them and hear them, but it is so surreal. Your soul has detached. It is floating slightly above you, observing not only the physicality but also the nuances and significance unfolding. It plays the tape back in your mind in slow-motion, helping you comprehend the magnificence of the moment, celebrating everything you have accomplished. You are already a million miles away, and you can’t wait to catch up.

There are innocent and tired children and excited and mildly drunk adults. A couple of women that motivate you to pray, that one of them—or one like them—will sit in seat B and allow you roughly 20 hours to hone your charming skills. But you let the thought dissipate. You have had a lifetime of North American women; the time has come to sample more spicy exotic flavors.

You shut your eyes and imagine your life a couple of hours into the future. You are flying just under the first layer of space, about 35,000 feet high above the giant shark park below. When you look down, there is nothing but black. It scares you. It reminds you of the comfort you used to receive from your nightlight.

Thank you for choosing Palm Tree Express to prop your way to paradise.