A shot of fresh air: A safe place at the airport

Posted on Aug 22, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

I recently traveled from Hawaii to the mainland on about 12 hours notice to help my dad recover from an illness. Air travel is scary for people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity because we know there is no way we’ll escape the journey unscathed. While I do wear a mask on the plane, I tough it out through all the terminals and gates. But for the time between flights in Honolulu, I have a secret place that I visit: a beautiful garden tucked away between the breezeways.

airport_garden

The air in the garden can be a challenge with the jet exhaust, but I still find some respite when I have a long wait between planes. It’s become a familiar place even though I only visit once about every four or five years. For me, even if I am anxious about the travel and my body is reacting to the onslaught of chemicals encountered during the journey, this garden helps me stay grounded. As I sit peacefully on one of the benches, I’m reminded that even in the middle of jet fumes and the crush of humanity, a person can find a peaceful interlude, a Safe Place.

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2 Responses to “A shot of fresh air: A safe place at the airport”

  1. Anna

    02. Sep, 2008

    Hi Susie,
    I know what you mean. We travel to Florida about 3 times a year. Each time like clock work we experience the same symptoms when we get there. Usually due to the perfumes and aftershave that people think that we need to smell. I rather smell B.O. quite honestly. It is two days recuperating from the flight and two days when we return. It just sucks :( I am glad you have such a beautiful garden to breathe in some fresh air.
    Hugs
    Anna

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  2. Susie

    02. Sep, 2008

    I’m with you– I’d rather smell B.O.! My trip over was harder than the trip home.The air on the plane was much better coming home, and going over I had a stoopy lady slather her hands in some totally stinky hand lotion right next to me (while I glared at her!). I didn’t have the luxury of catching much outside air between flights coming home— I DASHED to catch the inter-island flight, giving a quick glance to my “secret” garden!

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