Well, when I told my loved ones that I was flying to Kansas to get a pup, flying her to Boston and flying back home in one day, I heard them all - not once, but lots and lots of times. Did they deter me? Did they make me pause and reflect upon my decision? Did they wake me in the middle of the night with visions of being sold into white slavery? Not once - not a chance - not even for a heartbeat. When you work Monday thru Friday, even when you love to go to work, waking up Saturday morning and knowing it is a free day is a grand feeling. Yesterday, however, was a very, very special Saturday. Not only did I meet one of my greatest fears head on (flying) - but I met some very remarkable people. Here is my adventure.....

I planned the trip in my mind before hand, knowing that if all went according to schedule - it would be a breeze. I took a good book that I was already "hooked on", put on very comfy clothes, took all the things I thought I would need to cover any situation and left for the airport at 7:45 am. Parked right next to the door - went to the gate - got on the plane - sat next to a delightful young Navy guy - ate a USAir box breakfast - arrived early in Kansas City and waited for Luann, my westie hero from Kansas City - to show up with Molly - the little female we were transporting to Boston. Luann and Molly showed up at 11 am - right on time and we hugged and sat down and anticipated a 45 minute chat. Luann happened to mention to me that my Pit Boston flight had canceled. }}}}terror{{{{{

I jumped up and ran to the gate gal and she checked and yes, it had canceled. A flight was leaving for Philadelphia that very minute - It was all boarded and they were ready to go. She told me I could connect in Phil to Boston and gave me a boarding pass for the Philly flight which I promptly lost in my emergency stuff bag as I kissed and hugged Luann and grabbed the poor Molly and off we ran! The gate guy waved me on the plane and we had no idea what seat she had given us as we just sat and in two minutes we were off. So much for my nice chat with Luann.
Molly promptly went to sleep in her little travel bag and two hours, one box lunch - and one smoooooth flight later, we taxied up to the gate in Philly. So far so good. I had about 50 minutes to connect. Now at this point I had no idea how many seats were on the PHL-BOS flight. I forgot that I was flying standby and hadn't even asked the Kansas City gate gal how the Phl-Bos flight looked.

(Funny interlude...I went into the restroom in Phl and went into the booth and, since I was going to spring Molly in the restroom anyway, I opened her carrier so she could stick her head out and breath. Well, the little thing wiggled her whole body out while I was occupied and I had to grab her to keep her from running under the door and away! It took me ten of my 50 minutes to get my pants all pulled up and zipped with one hand while holding onto a hell-bent-for-freedom westie with the other. Glad there were no video cameras in there. Also, the toilet automatically flushes when it senses something hanging over it and it kept flushing and I am saying "stand still" "calm down" "hold on" - I can only imagine what the lady in the neighboring booth was wondering! ) So Molly is now free - on a leash - in the Ladies Room and what to our wondering eyes should appear - but a cat!!!!!! Four legs all going 90 miles an hour but getting no traction on the tile floor.

The cat and her mom finally left and I am hoping Molly will go to the potty. I am saying - "Go peepee Molly" "Go weewee Molly " "Molly go potty" wishing I had asked Luann what Molly's trigger potty words were! No dice.

So I whip out my bowl to give her a drink - but only very hot automatic water comes out in the restroom. Drat. So Miss Molly and I proceed out into the airport looking for a fountain. I give Molly a bowl and she has a quick drink and now I have a bowl that a dog has drunk a little water from and I have no where to dump it. Dare I dump it back into the public fountain??? Hell, yes!

My 50 minutes are fading fast here and we have to go to a whole other concourse. I stuff Molly back into her bag and we are off. We come to a moving sidewalk - a very long one - and a US Air Captain asks me if I am in a hurry and do I want to get on before him

- well, by the time we got to the end --- he was my "new best friend" He knew all about me and Molly and I knew that he had flown to Bermuda that morning and couldn't land due to high winds and had to bring his plane back to Philly. Glad I wasn't on it!!!!! Only second time in 8 years that had happened to him. He said that if I didn't get on the Phl-Bos flight to ask the crew if they would take Molly to Boston for me! Quelle idee! (What an idea)

So we get to the gate and there are about a million people. The gate gal is not nice and has no interest in Molly and me. The flight has been delayed, as an earlier flight had canceled. This does not look good. Go sit - she says - we sit. But, we see the entire flight crew standing by the ramp entrance. "Hello" says my brain to itself - dare I do this????? Hell, yes!

Over we go, looking cute as we can, and say "Are you the crew for this flight?" Yes, they all nod - "Are any of you dog-lovers?" I am- says this big good-looking man with lots of stripes. 20 minutes later Capt. Steve Hardy from Boston is my "brand new best friend". He'll be glad to take her to Boston and deliver her to Penny who we call from there and alert to this development. But, he also takes me over to Miss Personality and says - let's do what we can to get this lady on the flight. She is not pleased with me. To make a 30 minute wait short - we do get on the flight in the way back in the middle on a packed plane with unhappy people....

Finally, we pull away from the gate and Capt. Steve comes on and tells us we will have a 30 minute flight to Boston and says that we have a very special guest on board - Me and Molly - (no he really didn't do that - I'm lying) - but I know he was thinking it - he gave me his CARD for gosh sakes!

So up up and away we go - but we get outside of Boston and Stevie comes on and says that there is a traffic problem at Logan and we have been diverted to Providence airspace to fly in a circle for 25 minutes! Ptui!

I am in between a Korean woman who asks me a question every five minutes "Where are we now" "What time is it" "What airport are we flying to" "Are we in Boston yet" (No kidding - she was a trip) and a History professor from Juniata College in PA.

So the history prof and I have quite a discussion about politics and I have to say he was brilliant as he agreed with me on everything! Had he not, the flight might have been much longer!

Well, I open up little Molly's zipper just a little so she can see everyone - just for a second, I am thinking - as she was being very active in her little carrier at this point - actually scratching at the floor trying to dig her way out - and up she pops - smiling and wagging her other end (I surmise this wagging part) but -uh-oh - I cannot get her head to go back down into the carrier and no amount of gentle shoving is gonna do the trick - she has had enough.

Well, at this point we are finally landing at Boston and so I say - what the heck - and take her out and put her on my lap. The plane is emptying and everyone smiles at Molly as they go by. Capt. Steve and others all report to Penny and Gang that Molly and I are on the plane and will be off shortly.

Molly- now on a leash- trots all the way down the aisle of the plane, wagging and prancing and I am just hoping she does not weewee, peepee, potty or whatever it is she does - in the aisle of the plane as all of the flight attendants are watching us at this point - not even knowing there had been a pup on the flight!

The next sight we see is a group of smiling faces and welcome signs and Molly knows that she has come home! You cannot imagine how happy that little girl was to see everyone. She licked and kissed them all and stood up on her back legs and wagged and smiled and it was wonderful! I will say that once more - it was wonderful!

I wish you all could have been there with me. Her new Mom and brother are very special and I'm sure that the rest of her new family is, as well - it's one of those things you just know.

It was so good to finally meet Penny and Ed. They had gone to visit Sharon and Mike and their family to "check them out" so to speak, and to make sure they were committed to Molly.

Penny and Ed are just your average wonderful couple - devoted westie parents who have huge hearts and who care. They took very good care of this weary traveler - wining and dining her at Boston airport's best seafood spot and offering to put her up for the night - or the week!

But, alas, the flight back to Pgh was empty - just me and 6 others, so I turned down Ed and Penny's kind offer and flew home in peace and quiet and arrived 30 minutes early. I have to say that that final touchdown and screeching to a complete stop like they do (which always gives me sweaty palms) was a great relief.

ALL my flights were very smooth on this cloudless, sunny day which is what made the trip for me. If the first flight had been a rough one, I would have taken Greyhound back to Pgh and would probably still be on the road! After getting home and telling Bill a short version of the trip (I had talked to him and Robin every step of the way) I got online and went into the westie chat where I was heralded as if I was St. Joan of Arc and had single handedly slain the evil Puppy Mill King! Apparently, my "gang" had followed my adventure all day long and had tracked me like Houston and the space shuttle or Santa and his Reindeer! "Yep, there she goes over Indianapolis right now " "Whoa, she's eating the free peanuts." - I love them all!

My only disappointment was that I did not get to visit with Luann, who is truly a hero, and to thank Capt. Steve after the flight - but I will be getting in touch with them both. This was a Saturday for the Memory Book and I thank you all for your prayers and well-wishes and the good Lord for keeping His eye on me and Robin for giving me the opportunity to do all this free flying - we raised that kid right!

And now a word from our sponsor ...."If any of you know of a potential home for a lovable westie rescue, please keep us in mind. The federal gov't has recently changed rules regarding puppy mills and more dogs than ever before, of all breeds, will be needing good homes. And remember....we deliver!"

Love you all - Bev

update 12/22/06

Molly was rescued at age 8 from Westie Rescue of Missouri. We had her for six wonderful years.
We lost her suddenly last summer and
we miss her very much.