It is 10:33 pm Pacific time; 12:33 Central time. I am back in LA after an early morning plane flight and a long afternoon of students. This evening I worked with daughter Liz on her post-law school personal statement. Now, I have two dogs lying here in bed with me and I’m eyeing that clock, thinking I need to go to sleep.
I thought the plane might go down as we approached El Paso today. Good ole Southwest usually has a way to tame the bumpy ride, but today we were heading into a hefty wind. We bounced, shifted to the right, then to the left, bounced a few more times and then the pilot came over the public address system and said that due to shifting winds, we’d be trying a different approach. I said a little prayer as we headed due west, then circled back around. Second time was charm. We had a little bounce once the wheels hit the runway, but that was all.
All I could think about before we made the second approach was wind shear. That’s what happened to that jet coming into Dallas a few years back that crashed. All was well until the last few minutes of the flight. That’s when the winds shifted suddenly and down they went. It was awful. Almost no survivors. Luckily for us, today had a different outcome.
Now I can not keep my eyes open to even write so it’s time to turn off the lights. Enough for today. Of course, I’m grateful we didn’t have any of that terrible weather that is plaguing other parts of the country.
And I am grateful to close my eyes.
How are you all faring? Please share if you are so inclined.
As for now, good night.
20 Minutes a Day 
So glad your landing in El Paso went smoothly the second try, Len. Wind shear is nasty business, and it was what caused the plane my former husband was on to crash. If you were past the front, though, even though there were strong winds behind it, I think shear wasn’t too likely. If I have my data correct, shear usually happens around thunder storms. It takes more than strong winds to make shear. But I don’t fly any more unless it’s the most dire emergency imaginable and so far, none of those have occurred. And bumpy flights have always made me nervous no matter how benign the reasons might actually be. Now it’s your time to relax and enjoy non-bumpy sitting. *G*
Yes, it probably wasn’t wind shear, Sam. I know that is deadly. It was just the first time on a flight ever that I thought, “Oh my, is this wind shear?” There was a very dark rain cloud covering all of El Paso. But it was the winds that were scary.
I haven’t flown in almost twenty years. I’ve experienced only one bad flight during a devilish storm. Nowadays, I’m an armchair traveller. Glad your flight ended well, Len.
No flying in 20 years? Well, you wouldn’t have liked all that bumping I was going through, I can assure you. Nice to be safe in an armchair!