Purgatory
Some guy named Chad is yelling at the gate associate
because he has a very important presentation to make
for a multi-billion-dollar deal but we’re all stuck here
in O’Hare on account of the weather and Chad who is
apparently neither bright nor compassionate thinks
this is all her fault. I don’t actually know if his name is
Chad – I wanted to call him Chode but I thought
you wouldn’t believe me, so, Chad it is. Meanwhile,
Linda, a ten-year veteran of the airline, is handling
this with – no she’s not, that would be too easy and
frankly inaccurate. Linda is enduring, is all I can say,
and that goes for all of us here at gate B4, which is
so symbolic I’ll just leave it alone. Oh, I can’t resist:
B4. I miss before! I used to have hopes and dreams then.
But now, approaching hour eleven, I cannot remember
my life on the outside. Was I a good man? I think so.
Tipped the mailperson come holiday time, helped
my neighbors resolve their basement squirrel issue.
So why am I stuck here? See, but that’s Chad-talk.
Because the weather, is the answer. Because God
is either not a real thing or hates what we’ve done
to the planet he gave us. Because sometimes it snows
in April, sang Minneapolis’ brightest brilliant star,
and that’s where I’m trying to get to – both that city
and a place in my work where everything oozes
sex and purple appeal. I’m not there yet. I feel like
I’m not anywhere. I am between two destinations, and
maybe it’s the overpriced Bold flavored Chex mix
fueling this thought, or the Seamus Heaney poem
that I just read and am totally stealing this from, but,
that’s always true. We don’t even notice it until
events outside our control align to make us stop.
I’m starting to feel grateful for this forced extended pause.
Those TV screens up ahead screaming headlines
in bold-fonted chyrons? Those aren’t our concern
anymore. We live in the airport now. And, as such,
I am officially declaring my candidacy for Mayor of
Gate B4. Less Chads, More Free Consolatory Soft Drinks
From Linda! // By the way, this thing that I’m doing?
Playing around on the page to get through a bad
situation? I cannot recommend it enough. I started
years ago, during a very bad situation which lasted
for about eight months, and it worked. I didn’t
kill myself.