Don't Leave Without Me!

Here is another flashback....

It was the end of the summer 2004. I was taking a flight from Dakar, Senegal to London. I was dropped off at the airport by my friends and was, of course, early. I checked in and had my baggage searched. The fellow who was searching my bag was quite jolly and he asked me what my name was. I told him Aminata N'Dooe, which is a very traditional Senegalese name. I (obviously) was white and he just thought that was the funniest thing! He laughed and I told him I had been working in community health in a village south of Dakar. He checked my bag and waved me though, still laughing at my name.

I went through to the waiting area and saw that my flight was leaving in 2 hours. I was sitting at the gate and settled into a good book. It must have been a really, really good book because the next time I looked up, I saw my flight information and below it were the flashing words, "DEPARTING." I thought to myself, "holy crap!!!" picked up my bags and ran to the exit. I told them I was supposed to be on the plane that was leaving. I turned white when I saw the line- we had to have all our bags checked- again! I just knew I wasn't going to make it out of the country that night, and my heart sank. Suddenly, I saw my old friend, the one who checked my bags first. I ran over to him and told him my plight. He said, "Okay, little Senegalese girl." He slapped a check stamp on my bag and took me to the front of the line. He told the man checking bags that he knew mine was okay and to let me go.

So, I got out of the airport and onto a shuttle.... that was empty. Except for a white lady on the other end. I went over to her and asked her if she was getting on the plane to London. She looked at me and said, "Yes, I am. The plane was supposed to take off 10 minutes ago, but there was a problem with my visa. I am South African, and my husband is French. He also happens to be the pilot. I was on the plane and they made me get off to fix the visa problem. Before I got off the plane, I told my husband, 'You will not lift the wheels of this plane off the ground without me!'" As she told me that, I was shocked! That was the last thing I expected.

The shuttle moved toward the plane and we boarded. As I took my seat, I cannot explain the flood of relief that went over me. As we were taking off, I thought to myself, "Wow, God is so cool!"