14 Hours of Entertainment

The flight from Atlanta to Dubai is 14 hours long, and generally leaves at night so you will arrive at night on the following day due to the 9-hour time difference between our side of the world and theirs.

Our group of 8 boarded the plane, excited to be leaving and wondering what we would find when we landed. Coincidentally, a group of MBA students from the University of Florida were also onboard, bound for the same destination with similar thoughts. We had plenty to talk and laugh about, including a wide variety of suggestions on how to best sleep in a 2-foot wide seat. [Word to the wise, neck pillows are well worth the $20 investment.]

Four hours into the flight, I became convinced that I would go crazy within minutes if I didn't get up and walk. Making my way to the back of the plane, I found a crowd of people who all felt the same, and we quickly turned the steward galley into a makeshift bar/lounge for wayward travellers. The only things missing were bar stools and a tacky neon beer light.

If you know me at all, none of this surprises you. Of course I met almost everyone on the plane and set up a bar in the back of it. What else would I do on a 14-hour flight?? HA HA!

As passengers made their way into the "lounge", they were required to give a brief intro with their name and why they were travelling to Dubai. Greeted with a cheer and handed a beer, our newfound group of wanderers grew to about 15 passengers and flight attendants. God bless the poor souls who were sitting in the back of the cabin, they had no chance whatsoever of getting any rest as long as we were behind them!

My three favorite guys in the "lounge" all had wildly different reasons for being on the flight.

Mike lives in Atlanta, and works for a laboratory equipment company. He was heading to Dubai for a medical equipment tradeshow that takes place every year in the Middle East, hoping to set up supply contracts for microscopes and other lab equipment with middle eastern healthcare providers. He had been to Dubai once before for the same tradeshow and gave plenty of suggestions on his favorite spots to visit, which included Applebee's, Subway and Chili's. I guess you can take the boy out of the South but you sure as hell can't get him away from his favorite chain restaurants!

Matt lives in St. Louis and works for a playground equipment manufacturer. He was visiting Dubai for a different tradeshow - did you know they actually have them for the playground industry? I had no idea, and would have called BS except the next day, I actually saw a sign advertising the playground show in Dubai. So Matt was there with the goal of selling slides and swings to sultans and sheiks. I can dig it.

Matt also was the literal butt of a joke, as when he arrived to the lounge, he immediately broke into random calesthetics and oblivious stretching without respect or regard to where his posterior wound up. Young Matt had no idea that literally 10 minutes before, our dear flight attendent Kay had just told everyone that the flight crew is continually amazed and disgusted by the way passengers on long flights insist on coming to the back of plane and promptly bending over to do yoga, or something equally awkward, just as the crew is eating dinner, or working, or whatever.

Right as Kay finished her story while relaxing on a jumpseat, Matt appeared...butt up, and butting into the side of her face. Not surprisingly, about 10 of us fell over laughing as Matt "introduced" himself, rear first. But we were quick to forgive and warned him to never ever do that again!!

My last friend in the lounge was the most interesting of all. I call him the Texan because he never really gave me his full name. The Texan is a contractor for General Dynamics, and is based in Khandihar, Afghanistan. He was changing planes in Dubai to return to the Army base where he works. He told me he oversees "logistics planning" for Western Afghanistan, supporting our troops with the supplies and provisions they need. I'm not exactly sure what all that entails but I'm very sure The Texan wasn't about to tell me, and that's ok. He was proud of his work, and obviously missed his family, but he kept coming back to Afghanistan out of a sense of moral obligation, reinforced by the lure of tax-free income. Was he really in charge of supplies? I'm willing to bet he wasn't, and I'm willing to bet our troops are in better hands simply because he's there.