B43
"What's our gate?" I asked Calene. We were connecting through Denver.
"B43."
Wow. I'd waited sixteen years to pass through that gate again. My flight out of New York got delayed by weather back in 2009. I was there to have lunch with my agent and the guy who became my co-author. The flight landed so late during that particular Denver connection that I slept in the airport to make sure I got the very first flight out in the morning. That, and I was too cheap to pay for a hotel room for just four or five hours of sleep. Airport seats are separated into individual sections, making it impossible to lie down, so I slept on the floor behind the counter at Gate B43.
The old counter was tall and wide like a wall. So I could pretty much sack out without interruption. Airports are not quiet places late at night and into the early morning hours. Vacuums, floor polishers, workers talking loudly. I remember waking up a lot.
There was no emotional homecoming as Calene and I boarded. It was hard to tell my old sleeping spot because the new desk is more like a podium. We were on our way back from London after a research trip. I feel good about the sleuthing I did during our stay, finding all the things I needed to find, and a little more.
But I couldn't help but marvel at how my life has changed since that long ago night at B43. That was twenty books and more than a dozen bestsellers ago. Our sons graduated college. With coming out next month, one story idea being pitched is the notion that I'm one of the best selling historians in America, yet few people know my name. I don't bring that one up often, but I take a little delight in it. All of that happened since B43.
I became a better writer. I wasn't bad before, but I wasn't as confident. , published in 2003, still sells a lot of books and gets five-star Amazon reviews. So does , my first attempt at writing history.
I think the biggest change is that I'm not as competitive with other authors. I still keep score. The bestseller comment a few grafs up is proof. That vestige of my early career was more about being jealous about other people's success. Now I compete by trying to become a better writer, working out new ways to tell a story. I still haven't finished my fiction book yet. Which is proof that I'm still a work in progress.
B43 is just a gate. But it's also a reminder of God's blessings. I thought of that again this morning, when I woke up in my warm bed at home to hear the pope died. His message of prayer and gratitude resonated with me like no other spiritual leader. A lot going on in the world right now. Sometimes it's just nice to shut out the white noise and bad news � instead giving thanks for the little diversions life brings our way, and the people like Francis who remind us to look for them. If I hadn't slept in the airport that night I would not have remembered the significance of that life transition so well. But I did and I do. Sleeping on the floor was worth it.
