Okay, so now I am back from my trip to see my daughter. I mailed a box of Christmas presents to my other children. I stay in a hotel Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the next day that followed. I had enough to get pizza and some Chinese Food, which also makes great leftovers.
On December 28, 2013, I decide that I have $100 in my pocket. I can stay one more night and have $40 left to live on, or go to the airport and be able to eat at McDonalds and Starbucks, the only restaurants outside the gates. So, I camp out again December 28-December 30 in Terminal 3, Chicago ORD.
December 30, was the most interesting of the days in the airport. There was this guy. He was tattooed, pierced, and had all his gadgets with him. He was dressed in Camos. He had an Ipad, IPhone, Cassette Player, and like an Ipod. He asked me if he could use the outlets next to me to charge his gadgets. I told him, "My name is not written there, so go ahead."
Picture this: I am disgusting! I haven't showered in two days except to wash my hair in the sink in the terminal ladies room. I have tried to clean my body with hand wipes. Really I feel gross. I have doused myself with perfume, just so that I can smell decent. I am sitting, now with my coat, three layers of clothing, a huge suitcase half empty-it was full of gifts that I brought home for my family from Dubai-my ipad and my Verizon Samsung flip phone from Wal-Mart.
There is a chair between this guy who appears intoxicated with all his gadgets and myself. I see this other weirdo guy wandering around about 50 years old with longer blonde hair. He has two scarves around his neck. One that is green and one that is maroon. They are beautiful scarves. His jeans are ripped, but they appear to be designer jeans. He is also wearing this Sheep Skin Coat. He has gold earrings in both ears and a two-toned gold rings on all his fingers.
I see this weirdo guy getting angry because the outlets are not working a little distance away. I am thinking, "Mimi, mind your own business! This is not your issue. This is Chicago!" No, I don't listen to myself.
Thinking the two of them are together, I tell the guy sitting closely to me, "Tell your buddy that he can come over here and charge his phone."
The guy sitting next to me says, "This guy is not with me."
I said, "Oh! I thought he was with you, because you guys are kind of dressed the same."
He was curious, so he got up and went over to see who this guy who looked like him. All of a sudden, they both hugged each other. They did know each other. He brought the weirdo over to meet me and this guy sat next to me. They were talking and laughing and seemed happy to find each other.
The one next to me said, "Thanks for letting me charge my phone and computer here."
I said, "It's a free world!" I went ahead to continue listen to my music. Thinking, I need to try to sleep. It wasn't going to happen that night.
The two strangers sitting adjacent to me said, "What is your name Cutie?"
I said, "I am Marissa. What is your name?"
The one in Camos said, "My name is Randy."
The other one said, "My name is Jabe. Jabe Holmes."
I said, "Nice to meet you Jabe Holmes. I am Marissa Green."
He said to me, "Do you mind if I use your suitcase for a theater experience? I want to watch a movie on my computer. How about Die Hard 3?"
I said, "Be my guest." He then, as the movie was running, started talking about how he was friends with Donald Trump and that he was this famous guitarist and musician back in the day. He wrote songs, but people told him that his music was beautiful, but his lyrics were too personal. He also told me he played the piano, and that Chicago was his home. He asked me if I have ever been to the Palmer House. I told him I hadn't. He asked me if I had seen other parts of Chicago. I told him I had only been inside the airport terminals and some hotels. I told him my adventure to Chicago, how I was staying in the airport and some hotels and how I was not able to spend Christmas in my family's home.
I told him, I had about $10 to my name. I found out that Jabe was actually 72 years old. He said he had his own jet, and that he was just spending the holidays feeding the poor and getting away from the city to hang out in Terminal 3. He kept me up all night. We talked until morning. Then he said, when the sun comes up, I will take you into Chicago to see the city. Would you like that?
Okay, most of you are probably saying, "Oh My God! Tell me you didn't say yes! Tell me you were not crazy enough to see the city with this guy you don't know." Yeah I am crazy. Plus I was tired, and I was supposed to fly out the next day. So, I thought, "This trip cannot get any worse. He knows I don't have money, so he will not be trying to scam me out of anything." So the next day, I check my bags in, and he paid for my trip on the train, and we went downtown.
Oh My God! I have never been to Chicago ever! There were Christmas decorations everywhere! Huge trumpets and elves shooting out of buildings. Christmas tinsel decorating the lamp posts. It was so beautiful! It was very cold outside, but I did not seem to mind it, I was taken in by the holiday cheer. We first went into this building to stay inside from the cold. He talked to some people he knew. Then we started walking toward the Palmer Hotel. It was amazing! This old hotel. He took me up to the grand ballroom. Inlaid golden walls, mirror tiles on the ceiling, golden and deep red curtains on the stage and there among it all was a Baby Grand Piano.
He told me to sit down and play. I said, "I haven't played in a long time. I am rusty." He told me it was okay. He wanted to see my talent. I said, "Okay." I played one of my own pieces, that I have written myself.
He said that is pretty good. Then he asked if he could play his pieces. This man who I maybe thought was just lonely and wanted to have some company in Chicago, he was a musician from an era or another. He played the piano as if he was a concert pianist. I was very pleased. He sang a song he made for his mother, and another about a girl he once loved.
We then went to this other building to get his rings shined and cleaned. We were both kind of hungry and we tried out this little cafeteria restaurant next to the jeweler repair shop. It was like a little Cajun restaurant. I ordered the Catfish dinner and he had Fried Chicken. We ate our dinner and he had brought wine along, which we had bought at Target prior to going to the jeweler. We popped the cork and he shared a glass with the restaurant's owner. They started talking and they knew each other too. Maybe he was this celebrity, before my time.
At first, I think that he would have tried to scam me in some way or another, but after our afternoon, I think he realized I was not the type of person he wanted to hurt. I was too kind, too pure of heart. He gave me his telephone number, put me back on the train and I rode back to the airport to finally take my flight back home to Dubai.
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