Finding Baggage Claim 6

No one stands in the same river twice...  Sometimes I think it's meant to be that we lose details to time, beer and boxer shorts being exceptions.  Otherwise you'd get addicted to the memories, those feelings. You'd never want to go.  The trick is to catch yourself before time forces you to leave, to realize the moment is fleeting.  To be 21 again, drifting off to sleep on a cocktail of oxytocin and serotonin, Labatt Blue and exercised adrenaline, to be that content and at ease again.  Citrus colored birds notwithstanding. But if you could go back, somehow,  nothing would feel quite the same way.  It'd feel more like you were watching a movie.  You'd have different hopes and fears - except birds for me - than you did back then.  Hopefully though, if you are watching it like a movie, you'll watch it and, at least some of the time,  feel lucky.

Song pairings for the story...

“Here Comes the Sun” - Yuna                                                                             

“Suspended” - Matt Nathanson                                                                                   

“When You Say Nothing at All” - Ronan Keating

“Against All Odds” - Phil Collins 

"This I Promise You" - *NSYNC

“Trouble” - Ray Montagne

“The Animal Song” - Savage Garden

Playlists:
Apple Playlist:
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

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A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

Do you ever get that feeling you got to the party late and the best you can hope for is few free rounds at the open bar before it either closes or switches to cash? That's the feeling. Everything with us was uncertain.

Song pairings for the story, the playlist:

“Konstantine” - Something Corporate

“Supercut” - Lorde

“Already Gone” - Sleeping at Last

"Good Thing Going" - Lin Manuel Miranda & Colin Donnell 

"Some Might Say" - Oasis

 
Apple Playlist:
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

***

A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

However bright your lights may be this season, I hope the spirit finds you. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

Of all the chapters I've written so far in this little story, this one was the hardest.  Do we feel it when the end is coming? Through moves and flights and mandatory removal of shoes, I felt something coming, but I wasn’t sure what it was. A new country, a new radio station, a new show, new friends, and no real plan.

Song pairings for the story, the playlist:

“Come Monday” - Jimmy Buffet
“River” - Leon Bridges
“I Swear” - Dave Hause
"A Girl Like You" - Edwyn Collins
 
Apple Playlist:
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

***

A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

Growing up in the 80’s we heard a lot about cigarettes.  The goal was to educate, to create a healthier future, and obviously, to keep us from smoking.  The messaging made its way into magazines and TV commercials and even sitcom story lines. And it worked too.  At least on Arnold from Different Strokes.  And his friend Dudley.  And me.   Everyone seemed to know cigarettes were terrible. So, I asked my mother one day, why Grandma smoked.  My kid mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea that she’d keep doing something she knew was bad for her.   Grandma started when she was young, my mother explained, way back when almost everyone smoked, even The Flintstones, when no one knew the effects, and she’d become addicted.  I was like 9 or 10, so the concept of addiction, the power of it, was lost on me. I was blissfully naïve. Who wasn’t? Smoking was bad and I thought she should just stop.  

I wasn’t so naïve though that I didn’t wonder, way back then, what thing we thought was harmless would later turn out, like cigarettes, to be terrible, but we’d go on using it because we were addicted. For the longest time I was sure it was going to be microwaves.  Right on into college, where I slept with a microwave just inches from my head and was by then fairly certain it wasn’t going to be THE THING, I still wondered what it would be.  I’ve always found that when you ask The Universe a question, in your thoughts or in a whisper, and you do it long enough, eventually, you’ll get an answer.  

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

Sometimes you have to hold your breath and hope.  It doesn't always work out, you don't always get your wish, they're fragile, the intangibles. In the end though, nothing stays the same, nothing goes on forever, but if you're lucky, now and again,  you'll get a wink you'll never forget.  And if you're extremely lucky you'll get just what you wanted for your birthday. 

Song pairings for the story, the playlist:
“About You” - The 1975
“Settling” - Ripe
"Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS
 
Apple Playlist:
 https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

***

A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

Sometimes you have to hold your breath and hope.  It doesn't always work out, you don't always get your wish, they're fragile, the intangibles. In the end though, nothing stays the same, nothing goes on forever, but if you're lucky, now and again,  you'll get a wink you'll never forget.  And if you're extremely lucky you'll get just what you wanted for your birthday. 

Song pairings for the story, the playlist:
“About You” - The 1975
“Settling” - Ripe
"Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS
 
Apple Playlist:
 https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

***

A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

 We’re meant to miss some of the signs I think. Otherwise, we’d be frozen in fear, stuck in place, we couldn’t keep going.  We couldn’t enjoy the journey, or have a second cookie, or befriend flight attendants or rent cars or radio shows- also, I’d have way too many clothes. There’d be no scars or stories, no enchanting tales to tell.  

It was all unplanned, and still, we found a place to land.

(This episode features a few adult words - just 2)

Song pairings for the story, the playlist:
“By Christmas Eve” - John Legend
“Sweet Baby James” - James Taylor
“Out of the Woods” - Ryan Adams 

Apple Playlisthttps://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pdSpotify Playlisthttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ
***
A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

It was all unplanned. Two cameras, two cities, no script, no map and still , we found a  place to land.  

Song pairings for the story, the playlist
“Pictures of You” - The Cure
“Chinatown” - Bleachers feat Bruce Springsteen
"Chicagoland" - Magic Man
 
Apple Playlist
 https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

***

A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com

We all need a little vision correction sometimes, so we can see ourselves we never imagined.

Song pairings for the story, the playlist
“Wet Suit” - The Vaccines
“Recycled Air” - The Postal Service
“Colorful”  - Rocco DeLuca & The Burden
“Threadbare Gypsy Soul” - Pat Green
"Keep the Car Running" - Arcade Fire

Apple Playlist
 https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/finding-baggage-claim-6/pl.u-RRbVYqVuqY7pd

Spotify Playlist
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1f8F0l7IUb7CTcja4n9jwA?si=CA6kuAwRTHWaEwqhuDDZSQ

***

A story about landing. Finding Baggage Claim 6 is about what I’ve learned over the last ten years since I went from the life I always imagined with the great job and the great guy, a downtown view from 14 floors up, pretentious wines and pricey sunglasses, black town cars to first class check in,  I went from that, to a life I never imagined that started with no job and no guy, certainly no view; a life that started with me sipping house wine at a sports bar and clinging to those pricey sunglasses like a toddler’s transition object; a life that started at economy check in;  a life that started with me moving home to live with my parents at 35 years old; a life that started at baggage claim.  

The story is written in chapters, and read to someone I shared my life with for 5 years. Our goodbye was never worthy of what we’d had.  A year after we split, in the summer, we finally spoke. We promised, when we were cut short, we’d do it again when we had more time. We’d have a good long catch up. Before we could though, the following fall, before we could become best pals or just exes or acquaintances, or whatever, before we could say all that was still unsaid and pack up what was still unpacked, there was an accident that changed him forever. His memories were fractured and scattered but my friend is still there.

I put everything down for him in a sort of journal, that good long catch up, telling him our little story, and some of mine too, I don’t know how much he remembers, telling him what I’ve been up to and why it took so long to reach out. Telling him how the last 10 years have taught me that love can be meant to be, but not meant to be forever; that the job and the car and the view, even the sunglasses; none of it really matters; telling him I got married and that despite all my efforts otherwise, I’ve become my mother. And that I ended up in the last place I ever expected. 

FindingBaggageClaim6.com