She’d brought a book to read on the plane, but couldn’t seem to concentrate on it… Even though it was a darling story about a young, female deputy sheriff in a small town in Nevada who kept butting into everyone’s business. Sarah finally put it away and closed her eyes, thinking about all the turmoil she had left behind in Baltimore.
Her father and grandfather had found out about the panic attack somehow, and called Ben first. He didn’t know anything about it either, so then everyone called her – one at a time… Sarah wished she could have made it a conference call, to take care of all three of them at the same time. They all said different versions of practically the same things.
“Sarah, why did you have a panic attack?”
“Why are you leaving tomorrow for Nevada, of all places?”
“When you return, you’ll have twice the work to do that you have now…”
“Are you going to quit that job? That jerk should be sued.”
“But you don’t know anyone in Nevada…”
Everyone had an opinion. Everyone knew what she should do. She wanted to step back a few paces and take a good look at her life. Some changes were definitely called for, but she wanted to get away first and learn how to breathe again. Her breathing had become so shallow that her lungs weren’t filling… She was having trouble catching her breath. Not good…
But it was to be a seven-hour flight, which was just fine. No companies to instruct, no boss to endure, no family to placate and no absentee boyfriend. It was just Sarah, all by herself for the first time in… how long? Maybe forever. Time to do something all on her own… Sarah took that first deep breath. Even though it was airplane air, it was still smelled a bit like freedom.
It was a quick flight actually since Sarah had no one to please but herself.
She’d passed some of the time by trying to figure out which states she flew across. Sometimes the pilot would come on the intercom and announce the newest state… West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois went by underneath the plane as she watched a movie and read her book. When the pilot announced that they were flying over Kansas, she took a look. At 35,000 feet up, she was eating a late lunch and casually looked out her little window. She could see swirly lines of contrasting colors – greens and browns – farmland, maybe, as the plane also flew over towns and rivers that looked like specks.
The plane hit a pocket of turbulence that made Sarah’s stomach jump and clench, when the pilot announced they were flying over Colorado. The plane descended in altitude then, probably to avoid further turbulence. A look down showed larger rivers, deep gorges and mountains shrouded in white mist. She was napping when the pilot came on to announce that they were flying over Utah. Again, she saw far-away cities surrounded by snow-capped mountains, but there was also a reddish tint from time to time. Lots of canyons there, she knew…
Also, Sarah thought about a great old Western that had been filmed in Utah, ‘The Searchers’ with another of her favorite Western actors, John Wayne. The beautiful red rock areas and Monument Valley had hosted such movies as ‘Stagecoach’, ‘How the West Was Won’, and ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’. Sarah smiled just thinking of those great, iconic movies. The woman sitting next to her caught her smile.
“Hi, I’m Michelle. I’m being nosy and was just wondering what you were thinking about. It’s that’s not too personal a question.”
“No, it isn’t. So many great movies have been made in Utah. I was thinking about a few of them. I’m Sarah, by the way.”
“Don’t you just love movies? I’m a movie nut myself. What ones were you remembering?”
“Oh…’Butch Cassidy’, ‘Stagecoach’…
Michelle’s face came alive. “’Stagecoach’. What a great one! One of John Wayne’s first roles.”
“And the director John Ford’s too. He had been a silent film director and this was the first of a string of hits for him.”
The man next to Michelle decided to weigh in. “Yeah, Ford did ‘Young Mr. Lincoln’ after that…”
“With Henry Fonda,” added Sarah.
“Then there was ‘Drums Along the Mohawk’,” said Michelle.
“And ‘Grapes of Wrath’…”
“…Again with Henry Fonda,” smiled Sarah.
The man turned to the women. “Hi, I’m Tom. Nice to meet more movie nuts.” They all smiled at one another.
“Okay,” said Michelle. “What is your all-time favorite Western movie?”
“Ever?”
“Yep.”
Everyone thought about that for a while.
“I enjoyed ‘High Noon’ with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly,” said Tom.
“…One of the best…”
“You know, ‘Open Range’ with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall was pretty darned good. Although, I think it was filmed in Canada,” commented Michelle.
Sarah nodded. “Oh, that was a good one, you’re right.”
“What’s your favorite, Sarah?”
She smiled. “My top favorite is ‘Big Country’ with…”
“… Gregory Peck,” finished Michelle. “Isn’t he incredibly handsome in that movie?” They both sighed. Tom rolled his eyes.
A lady in front of Tom peeked around her seat. “I really liked ‘Dances With Wolves’.”
The man across from Tom leaned over, “No, ‘Unforgiven’ with Clint Eastwood is one of the best Westerns.”
In front of Sarah, a woman raised up, “No, ‘The Horse Whisperer’ with Robert Redford is the best.” She sighed and added, “I’d watch Redford brush his teeth.”
People listening in the middle of the plane laughed at that comment, and then everyone was putting in their two cents about what the best Western of all time could be. Sarah and Michelle looked around them, smiled and shook their heads.
“What have we started here?”
“I don’t know, but I haven’t been this relaxed in years,” said Sarah.
“That just goes to show what a good movie can do for you.”
For the next hour, Western-movie fever apparently spread throughout the entire plane and people started moving about the cabin, discussing their favorites with someone else. Sarah laughed that so many people had seen so many Westerns. She marveled that her most pleasing pastime seemed to be a hit with others as well… Although two men up front decided it was necessary to argue over who was the better Western actor: John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. There were clearly no winners.
Finally, the flight attendants shooed everyone to their seats, as the pilot announced that they would be landing at Reno-Tahoe International Airport soon.
“Make sure your seatbelts are buckled and tray tables are in their upright position.”
Michelle and Tom both looked over at Sarah.
“Thanks. This has been one of the most enjoyable flights I’ve ever taken,” said Michelle.
“Ditto,” smiled Tom. “Whatever you’re doing in Nevada, I hope you have the best time of your life.”
Sarah blushed. “Thanks, you two. I may never see you again, but I’ll never forget you either.”
And then the plane was landing in Nevada.