Cordillera International Film Festival: Flight Out of OIA

Posted on by Thor

The flight to the Cordillera International Film Festival from Orlando International Airport just happened to line up with the day Hurricane Helene was churning north in the Gulf of Mexico. My sister reported that the eye of the hurricane would be west of Port Charlotte about Noon on that day.

I caught a Lyft to the airport about 10 AM to catch a Noon flight. It was cloudy but clear when I left, but we drove right towards a wall of dark grey clouds on the trip south to the airport. Half way there it began to rain. I joked with the driver that it would likely rain for the rest of the day. I realized that I likely left a ceiling fan on at home. There was no going back. Perhaps a power outage might save some electricity?

In the airport waiting area it seemed like everyone was checking their phones to see the track of the eye of the storm. I was sure the airplane would fly north away from the front bands of the storm. I was sure of that since airplanes roar over my home daily every half hour or so, their engines rattling the windows. I had hoped that I might sketch someone else wearing a mask, but I was the only one, except several airport staff. Am I crazy? Well that is rhetorical, I know the answer, but I also know too much about the invisible damage the virus is doing to peoples vascular systems, brains and immune systems.

There was a 15 minute delay boarding, but we were assured that we would make up the time with a strong tail wind. Strangely as the plane tires left the tarmac, it was sunny out. There were a few gut wrenching bumps on the ascent to cruising altitude but after that it was a smooth flight. I watched the movie Dune on the flight north west. We flew to Minneapolis where there was a 3 hour layover before catching another flight to Reno. It felt good to be flying thousands of miles away from the advancing hurricane. It was a rather extreme form of voluntary evacuation.

 

Security

Posted on by Thor

In a news conference Tuesday June 16, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis said that 260 workers from the Orlando International Airport tested positive for Covid-19 after nearly 500 employees were tested. Airport Chief Executive Phil Brown had to correct the Governor’s statement. According Brown, of the 500 airport workers who were tested for Covid-19, only two had positive results. Those tests were done over a three day period.

Between mid-March and through June 6, there were 132 employees of all the airlines, rental car companies, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Aviation Authority that tested positive, according to the statement. Another 128 people who tested positive were not airport employees but were traceable connections to the workers who tested positive for Covid-19, according to the public health team. so, 132 plus 128 is, 260 people with some affiliation with the airport have tested positive for Covid-19. This shell game is rather funny as executives try to confuse and downplay the numbers.

Clearly the airport executive tried to downplay the number of workers affected but regardless, 260 people were infected by the virus. That left me wondering, what would it be like to try and get through security knowing the TSA agents might be infected with the virus. A pat town might not just be invasive but downright terrifying.

On Wednesday June 17, 2020, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority approved a new policy requiring all 22,000 airport employees to wear facial coverings in public areas of the airport. Employees will need to observe social distancing “to extent that they can.” I imagine social distancing goes out the widow as a TSA agent spears the virus all over your clothes as they pat you down.

Some people have felt they were sexually assaulted when they were patted down. a well-known CNN political commentator and analyst, Angela Rye was subjected to a humiliating vaginal pat-down before boarding a regular flight from Detroit to New York. In addition to being screened by the backscatter X-Ray machine, the female officer advised that she had to be patted down. It was only supposed to be “a backhanded pat around her upper thigh.” Instead, the female officer went down her leg, up her dress and her hand sideways touched Rye inappropriately. The same officer then faced Rye, and her sideways hand once again hit the middle of Rye’s genitals. Rye believed she was sexually assaulted. She filed a complaint.

OIA is stepping up its cleaning efforts in high traffic areas, and hand sanitizer stations have been added throughout the airport. And as reported earlier they are downplaying the tread of the virus.

I hear flights going into and out of OIA all day long. Airlines have to keep the flights on schedule even if they are empty because it is a requirement of the 25 billion dollars in government bail outs. Known as the CARES Act, airlines receiving aid are required to continue flying to every domestic destination they already serve, even with low passenger numbers. The requirement is designed to keep supply chains stable and transport essential personnel, like government and healthcare workers, as well as to maintain connectivity to smaller areas. While airlines collected 25 billion dollars small businesses are folding all over the county. So, ghost planes are flying all over the country literally empty except for plane crews and very few passengers.

We are living in the age of ghost planes and zombie molestation in the name of “security.”

Heading to Nantucket

Posted on by Thor

A month after the horrific attack that killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub, I was feeling burnt out from sketching vigils, fundraisers and community healing events in Orlando. Glen Wiemer, an old art school buddy offered me a chance to get away and take some time for myself up in Nantucket where he practices Holistic Bodywork.

I found a cheap direct flight to Nantucket right from the Orlando International Airport. I was recently separated and it turns out that getting divorced is a long drawn out process. Now two years later I am still in the process of preparing for the divorce. An art appraiser is determining the value of my art since it is considered part of the marital assets that need to be split.

The flight was uneventful and pleasant. I was excited for some time to soak up some sun and regain some strength to face the long road ahead.

Heading to the Canadian Rockies

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In high school and college, Terry traveled the world extensively. That wanderlust is back and sometimes I go along for the ride. Our latest trip was to the Canadian Rockies. The Orlando International Airport involved the usual bustle of checking baggage and getting boarding passes. Then there was the long line through security. Shoes came off along with belts and my hat. There was the struggle to juggle bins for electronics and pocket items. Then the full body scan so they could check my junk.

Flight 1407 was a direct flight between Orlando and Calgary Canada. As I sketched my fellow passengers, I had to wonder why they were headed to the North West.  The young girl seated in front of me double fisted her cell phone and laptop. Most people glanced at some digital device at some point to kill the time. One woman however was reading a newspaper. Yes she held real paper in her hands glancing at the headlines.

Terry went to the women’s room to take care of business so she would be calm for take off. We all crushed onto the plane and then we were off to the Rockies. I spent the entire flight watching the grid of America slipping by below.

Jet Blue Flight 1717

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My wife Terry dropped me off at the Orlando International Airport two hours early to get through security and wait for my Jet Blue flight to Santo Domingo. 100 artists from around the world were gathering there for the Third International Urban Sketching Symposium. I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the ten instructors. My workshop would be called “Capturing the Event.” All my course materials were tucked away in my carry on.

This is probably the calmest scene I sketched during the week of the symposium, as flight 1717 fueled up and prepared for boarding.  The flight took just about two hours flying south to the Dominican Republic. For the in flight snack, I grabbed a bag of animal crackers and I tried to identify each species before I bit off its head or legs. Each seat back had TV screens with 35 stations and three movies playing. I pushed the buttons on my arm rest and decided to watch The Lorax without sound. This Dr. Seuss animated feature was easy to follow even without the dialogue. Watching a film without sound let me focus on how scenes are composed, staged and lit. When I wasn’t watching the screen, I was watching the gorgeous cathedral like cloud formations.