Rosemary Augustine

May 16, 2018: Recently I flew into Washington Dulles International Airport to visit my friend Cynthia that I traveled to Paris with last fall.  We had an art immersion weekend. Visits to The National Gallery of Art, 2nd Friday at the Workhouse, and several acrylic paint demonstrations, not to mention an art fair in Del Ray.  It was non-stop art all weekend and we both loved it.

However, as Cynthia drove me back to Dulles to catch my flight home, I reminisced about my memory of when Dulles was first being built and then opened.  I remember my parents and I taking a ride to see the airport when it was open to the public just before flights started. The airport officially opened November 17, 1962.  I was 12 years old and had not yet flown on an airplane. It would be another 7 years before I would take my first flight on an airplane. I remember the ride to the Dulles Airport was long.  And, I remember back then thinking “who would build an airport out in the middle of nowhere and expect people to choose Dulles as an airport of choice in the DC area?”  Well fast forward decades, and it’s now one of the busiest international airports.

So I’m on a Southwest flight from Dulles to Orlando (or Mickeytown as it’s often referred to at airports). We’re advised to line up for early boarding due to weather – “maybe we can beat the storm before it hits Dulles” was the announcement as tornadoes were already spinning north of us and there was lots of rain up and down the east coast with more rain waiting for me in Florida.

Once boarded and belted in, I looked out the window and thought “if it’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon, why is it pitch dark out the window?”  In a few split seconds of boarding early to beat a storm, the storm arrived.  The next announcement was “we will have to wait it out now, maybe 45 minutes and then we can be on our way.”   Then, not 30 seconds later, the steward nervously announced “There is a tornado warning for the airport, so we need to deplane immediately.  Take all you belongings and leave the plane now.”  Well I was in row 4 and there was a sudden log jam to exit … Can you imagine the panic for the folks in the back of the plane?   The wind and the rain were suddenly relentless against the left side of the plane.  It was unexpectedly a frightful moment.

Once deplaned, and with the storm raging, the loud speaker continued to announce every 3 minutes in a robotic voice, “Dulles International Airport is under a tornado warning, take cover immediately. Stay away from all windows.” Oh gee.  How many times have I been in a situation that I have to take cover for a tornado?  Way too many times to count.  I said to the girl sitting next to me in the gate area, who  lives in Orlando,  “I survived Hurricane Irma and wrote a book about it, I’ll be fine… (secretly hoping I will).  I eventually got up and took shelter in the restroom.

An hour has passed and the tornado warning is over but we are still sitting at the gate inside the airport and still experiencing a severe thunderstorm.  Guess I’ll be getting a vodka cocktail if I ever get on the plane. I’ll need one by then.

Two hours have passed and we are still sitting in the gate area… Lightning is still too close to the airport so the ramp personnel continue to be grounded.

They just announced we may start boarding  shortly.  Oh the joys of flying. I don’t remember too many flight delays like this in my life time, especially for weather.  Once when flying standby in the busy summer months I was stranded for days, but not because of weather.  And only once did I have delayed luggage on the way home from a speaking engagement. I never, however, experienced what I did on that plane sitting at Dulles – the plane moving like the worst turbulence while still on the ground. That was right before we were told we needed to take our stuff and deplane quickly.

Now we’re on the plane again… Though I just saw lightning in the distance. The door is closed and the plane has pushed back. If we can just take off, fly safely, land safely, and I get to drive home safely, the delay will be all worth it.  During that entire two hour flight my anxiety level was so high, I had chest pains from the stress, praying that I would get to see my kitties again.  The flight continued with lots of turbulence, rain and keeping my seat belt on during the entire time. Even the flight attendants were limited to how much they could be in the aisle.  They too were belted into their jump seats most of the flight.  I never did have the vodka cocktail.  I didn’t have anything.  Although the landing was the smoothest I’ve experienced in a long time, I was never so glad to land and get off that plane.  The trip wasn’t over yet.  I still had a 45 minutes ride on dark lonely roads since it was already after 12:30 AM.

If you are reading this, I made it home safe and sound, hugged my kitties, and posted this to my blog a few days later.

Wishing you safe travels in the future… Love and Hugs

Rosemary Augustine

P.S.  My other airport that I watched being built and visited before the grand opening was DIA- Denver International Airport which opened Feb 28, 1995.  The same thoughts were in my mind in 1995 of why build an airport out in the middle of nowhere? I traveled extensively in the 80s and 90s in and out of Denver (I was living in Denver at the time), and I use to leave my home an hour or less before departure, and easily reach the gate long before the doors closed.  Oh the days before TSA.  Today DIA is also one of the nation’s busiest airports. Here are the Wikipedia links to Washington Dulles International and Denver International Airport… Some interesting facts and information about these airports.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Dulles_International_Airport

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_International_Airport

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May 4, 2018: My condo complex is situated around a public golf course in Melbourne Florida.  Mallard Landing and Craine Creek –  due to the extensive losses the city has incurred over the last 10 years.  Now all kinds of thoughts went through my head – like more condos on the 200 acre parcel that Mallard Landing adjoins creating increased density, congestion and possible increase or decrease of property value.

Earlier this week I attended my first ever city council meeting.  I wanted to hear what the plans were and whether it’s too late to sell or whether my much coveted view will be drastically diminished.  Much to my surprise, every member on that council wanted to keep the golf course even though it has lost millions of dollars since owning it.  During the meeting an extensive review of financials for the last 10 years was laid out, discussed and decided to change the way the golf courses are reported on the books and to include them in the general fund and not treat them as separate entities with no relation to the parks and recreation budget.

They asked people from the audience to speak.  Many were golfers, employees of the golf course, and of course, yours truly – a non-golfer who sees a significant need for the city and the golf courses to improved their marketing efforts.  I was given 3 minutes to speak, and within those 3 minutes I outlined some marketing options that would improve visibility, increase membership, and overall improve the bottom line.  The council was thrilled to have my input and many agreed that marketing is an absolute critical need for these two public golf courses. The council was also thrilled with the fact that so many of the general public with a vested interest in the golf course attended the meeting.

I’ve lived in Melbourne, Florida for 3 years, and I achieved my 15 minutes of fame in all of 3 minutes.  Who would have thought it would be at a city council meeting on the 1st of May.  Quite the May Day event with a positive outcome.

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May 1, 2018: Much to my surprise, while away on vacation, I received an email from my boss asking me to respond to Amy Ingram about attending an upcoming client meeting.  “Who is Amy?” was my first thought and then figured it was the wholesaler selling the product that will be presented to the client at that meeting.  As I looked at the email further, Amy was listed as my boss’s personal assistant.  “WTF?”  was my next thought, only to see a P.S. from my boss stating “Rosemary is still very much employed.”  A bit more digging and I found that Amy has a full name of Amy Ingram, a Bot that schedules meetings for busy executives. (visit x.ai to learn more).  Although scheduling client meetings has not necessarily been a function of my administrative duties for a long time, still I’m miffed by the thought of Amy threatening my livelihood.  Thoughts of Bots replacing us in everyday chores, duties and functions get carried away in my imagination.  Now I could get a little graphic about some of the duties and functions these Bots could perform, but I’ll refrain, since your kids may be looking over your shoulder while you’re reading this.

I’ve worked as an administrative assistant for years – too many years at this point.  Though I still enjoy the process of organizing and following up on projects that my busy executives either delegate to me or expect that I’ll  handle the process just by knowing what needs to be done. I’ve come a long way from the days of typewriters and carbon paper for copies.  Even though I’ve performed administrative functions all my adult life for various companies and executives, it might be time to realize that with technology, more so the speed of technology, will ultimately do away with most of what I do.  Even as a writer, technology is being programmed to write with emotion.  Art is being programmed so that software can paint pictures with proper use of lighting. Technology has been in the operating room and is now in our homes with Alexa.   So where do we all fit in?  on the heap in the movie of Soylent Green?

I’ll need to check my attitude and relax.  Even though I laugh at the thought, I know my days are numbered and have been for some time because of technology.  At least for now I need to see if there is an Amy out there that can do some of the publishing tasks I need to delegate.  So much is being automated, even new refrigerators are designed to know when you are running low on milk and will order for you and have it delivered.  And delivered probably back into the fridge if we’re not careful.

So if you think you can’t be replaced, think again.  Amy is just one example of jobs moving to technology.  Remember though, someone has to program Amy to do the tasks.  Someone has to create the check boxes for the technology to check off that the tasks are completed.  And, remember, the check boxes that are being created have to be the right information or the job isn’t done correctly – only what was listed on the checkboxes.

We’ve become a world of robots ourselves sadly.  Simply because I often hear “I’m only doing what I was told to do” by clerks that aren’t into their job.   However, can a Bot think beyond what it’s asked?  Go the extra mile? Care enough that the job is done with feeling not just precision.  Can it challenge the clerk, the boss or even ourselves when something doesn’t seem right, fair or accurate?  I fear what the world will be in 20 years with the progression of Bots.  Think about all the things that these Bots are already doing.  And, the speed in which they are invading our lives.  Although my days of working in an office are probably numbered, not because of Amy, but because how much longer do I want to be on the wheel like a rat spinning out of control just to make the day.  I’m facing the possibility of being extinct because of Bots like Amy.  Then again, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.  A chance to write more books, paint more pictures, and wouldn’t it be nice to let Amy get the coffee for when those clients come in for their meeting.

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