Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The Realisation that You can not depend on others

I have been somewhere I would never want to be and back, and now know that God is faithful. Could you imagine that I was left stranded at the airport on my way back!! You no hear gist.

Na so my aunty told one guy (a family friend and her relative) to come and pick me from charlotte airport. The man even invited himself, we called said he was in Washington DC but would get back in time to come and get me from airport (story). We called before we left, yesooo I am on my way guy said.

I landed 2.30pm, called the guy..his phone was cutting off, he must have said something along baltimore..anyways..he calls back..phone cuts off. Did not hear from the fella again. Kept calling his phone, kept going to voicemail. I was at the airport for 2hrs, called aunty, asking where the man was. She said she couldn’t get hold of the guy, that she will contact someone to come and get me. Na so I changed all my dollars, kept phoning the guy, until I was tired. The day before my young cousins loved the games on my phone and the battery was practically dead by the time they finished with the phone. I started asking people if I could borrow their phone, some gave, some didn't. 6 hrs later, I called aunty. She says to me “a….., where are you, we've been looking for you everywhere', I said I am still at the airport where did they think I would be. Apparently the guys wife went to Raleigh Durham to find me (by the way Raleigh is 4 hrs away from charlotte and 6hrs from Blacksburg), I said you didn't tell me this people lived in Raleigh, I am in Charlotte not Raleigh (charlotte is like 2hrs from Blacksburg). Anyways, the woman was refusing to come and get me from charlotte (I know I wouldn't), and claimed she had left her young children. That she had been in Raleigh for 3hrs. She is such a lair. Who told her I was in Raleigh. Everyone including her husband knew I was in Charlotte.

Anyways 10.30pm, (8 hrs later), my aunty tells me to go and find a hotel, that my safety was more important, and that she would try and coordinate for someone to come and get me the net day. I tried to call the hotels available. The rooms were fully booked, and the ones available were smoking and were charging over 150 dollars including tax. So I decided to sit on my chair for 45 mins to figure my next step. I asked how long the airport was open for, thinking maybe I might do an all night meeting on my own. So I decided to go and hire a car. They said they would accept my British licenses, but because I was asking for a one way ride, I would need to pay a drop off fee. Na so they said something along the lines of 150 dollars we haven't even discussed petrol or insurance. Anyways, I decided to walk along, to ask all the car renters available what their charges were.

I had left my suitcase for more than 5 mins when the baggage people had sent for police and sniffer dogs to come and sniff out my baggage that was left unattended, as it might be a bomb. So by now, my cell phone battery was dead. I had run out of money, used it all on phone calls at the phone boot, sniffer dogs to sniff out the supposed bomb in my baggage, no rooms to rent for the night (unless I choose to inhale smoke at an unfavourable rate - which if I did, wasn't even sure if they would come and get me from the airport)..and my credit card was not working..YES..NOT WORKING. So everything that could go wrong went wrong.

As I walked along contemplating (If I Perish I Perish), because it was raining heavily outside, didn't have a map or have an idea on how to get home, but was still contemplating hiring a car in the thick darkness outside, I walked past the information booth lady, who bless her, has been helping me the entire time with the use of her phone and paging visitors at the airport, she said still no help I practically burst out crying. I am stranded for real.

Anyways to cut the story short, there was a taxi driver that came to pick someone up. He saw me at 2.30pm and seeing me again at this late time asked the lady what is the story with that girl. So she relayed my story to him and he offered to drive me home for 150 dollars. They gave me their phone to call my cusin Jackie in Augusta Georgia, who picked up the tab on her credit card, and that was how I got home. It took over 3 hrs with the rain and bad weather, and when I got to Blacksburg, could not have been more happy to see home.

I came to work the next day, my entire experiment wiped out, because of a power cut, and there had been a man hunt in the university campus, an armed and dangerous criminal had escaped from the hospital where he was receiving attention, and shot a police man and a staff at the hospital shooting them dead.

All this chaos and I was not affected. I am home and alive. Praise be to God.

6 comments:

Corri S. said...

I'm so sorry...I can't even imagine. Thank God for the taxi driver. A 3 hour taxi ride! I'm glad everything worked out though.

NaijaBloke said...

WOW!!! that was some shyte u went thru... men that actually look wierd somehow,for everything to just go wrong at the same time.

Thank God u made it home sha and aiight.

SapphireAster said...

DANG!! I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I'm glad you are alright though.

Anonymous said...

wow..what a NIGHTMARE! Thank God you are safe though!

Miguel said...

After reading you post, i made a promise never to complain again when folks show up late to pick me up from the airport...what u went thru is what we call ...waka ...dat na proper waka...Thank God you are safe though..

The Life of a Stranger called me said...

Thank you everyone for your kind words, after getting back to work and the whole chaos which I am currently trying to fix and will soon blog, I realised I was stranded for a reason, I had to meet the taxi driver.