This column was supposed to be about my epic hot air balloon ride. A beautiful, adventurous ride providing the perfect counter balance to the chaotic ugliness of traditional travel. A majestic, joyful ride helping me shed the bitter aftertaste of travel delays due to unpredictable summer storms, software malfunctions, missed connections and last-minute car rentals with flat tires.
The ride got canceled due to an unpredictable summer storm.
How does one pivot from a planned humblebrag about an adventurous spirit and renewed positivity through a birds-eye view of the countryside?
If you're me, you shop, clean and make lists. Our lovely but slightly neglected cottage in Galena was near the ride's origin, so I had planned to stay there after my escapade. I pivoted to completing some long-overdue upkeep. I had a productive, if less perspective shifting, evening. "Tomorrow," I vowed, "I will seize the day!"
I arose with the roosters to get to the seizing. Three things happened immediately - the water shut off during my shower, my coffee maker broke and another unpredictable summer storm blew through.
Quick side note regarding meteorology's use of "unpredictable." I am starting to feel like "The Princess Bride's" Indigo Montoya; "I do not think that word means what you think it means."
Anyways, if I were feeling particularly paranoid, this is where I'd be convinced the world was out to get me. I saw plenty of people with this conviction during my travel woes as I watched frustrated, weary customers facing off against frazzled, exhausted staff. Truthfully, we all just wanted to be home.
Now here I sit on my lovely but slightly neglected porch, in the rain, wondering what to do that doesn't involve a primal scream. (I already did that. It felt great.) My mind inevitably drifts back over my absurd week of "planes, trains and automobiles." I realize that amidst the chaos were unexpected moments of human connection and random acts of kindness.
Shout out to "Roadside Assistance Jake," who repaired the afore-mentioned flat tire at a deserted gas station in rural Wisconsin long after his midnight shift had ended. We bonded over hot coffee, dark humor and irritation with "unpredictable" storms.
And my sweet grade school friend, Lois, now living in Florida. Her whirlwind Midwest visit conflicted with my crazy schedule, but we wrangled one afternoon together. We met at an old favorite neighborhood pizza joint. She surprised me with a pink-tastic Barbie mini-dreamhouse that she'd dragged through her entire seven state road trip.
So instead of an epic ride shifting my focus, some quiet meditation in the rain does the trick. The world is full of "Roadside Assistance Jakes" and "Barbie Dreamhouse Besties." The perfect balance lies simply in acknowledging these unexpected connections and acts of kindness and paying them forward. Even the smallest of gestures have great power.
Of course, I'm still looking for an adventure - with one caveat. It can't be waylaid by "unpredictable" summer storms.
- Jen Dean of Hinsdale is a former contributing columnist. Readers can email her at
