Write About Everything

I had a spontaneous streak when I was younger. I’d get the urge to do something, then do it. It created problems for me sometimes. But, it also allowed me to seize upon opportunities, like leaving a boring, dead end job for an exciting new one with greater potential. And, I had some awesome spur-of-the-moment experiences.

Like flying on the supersonic Concorde. I took my first Concorde flight in October, 1977. I was 24-years-old, and on top of the world. A long lifetime filled with opportunites and adventure lay before me. and I was determined to make the most of them. “You only live once,” was my motto. Anyway, I’ve been an Anglophile for most of my life. I read Sherlock Holmes stories as a child, and later embraced the British Invasion with a passion. In 1964 it wasn’t cool to like the Beatles if you were a guy in my neighborhood. They were written off as a fad to be left to their legion of screaming female fans. It was The Four Seasons, The Temptations, and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles for all of the boys. Except me. I proclaimed The Beatles to be the greatest thing to ever happen to music. Better than even Elvis! I got teased and ridiculed quite a lot, but I didn’t care. All of the fresh, new, interesting music was coming from England, in my mind. I wanted to go there. It became my dream, my lifelong goal. I finally got there not too long afterwards, but I’ll leave that event for another story.

Concorde was another fascination I had. I’ve been interested in airplanes for years, and Concorde grabbed my attention quickly as the first (and only) commercial supersonic airliner. It made its maiden voyage in 1976, then began scheduled service between JFK Airport in New York, and Heathrow in London. By 1977, I had made two trips to London, both overnight flights from Philadelphia’s antiquated Overseas Terminal. They both ended the same way; arriving at Heathrow in the early morning after a night of no sleep in a cramped coach seat. It took a full day or more to get over the jet lag. Concorde was a revolution in air travel. Flying at twice the speed of sound it cut the trip between New York – London almost in half! The flight took just under 3.5 hours, and arrived in London the same day. That meant arriving in time to get a good night’s sleep, and wake up the next day refreshed and ready for a business meeting or a full-day sightseeing excursion.

You know how it is. You want to do something really badly, but you put it off. Someday, you say to yourself. Well, my Concorde “someday” hit me like a ton of bricks one day. I couldn’t wait any longer. I immediately made my plans to go, and bought my ticket as soon as I could. A one-way ticket. It cost around $900, a considerable sum back then. But, it was a bargain compared to more than $10,000 for a roundtrip ticket during Concorde’s final flying days. Still, I couldn’t afford it both ways, so I bought a really cheap standby ticket for my return flight. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! I also booked a room at an inexpensive London hotel, to save even more money. I was there for just two nights. The whole point of the trip was the Concorde experience

And what an experience it was! I enjoyed a gourmet meal served on fine china along with an extensive assortment of the finest beer, wine, and liquor. Afterwards, we were offered cigars. And we smoked them. That amenity was discontinued in later years, even before smoking cigarettes was banned aboard all flights in the 1990s. How many people can say they smoked a cigar inflight? By the time we finished cocktails, the main meal, dessert, and coffee, we were almost there. I began to wish that the flight would last longer, I was enjoying myself so much. Clearing UK Customs was a breeze. A typical Concorde passenger would have a car waiting, or take a taxi service new york jfk into town. After the flight I was in budget mode, so I boarded an Underground train for the journey into Central London. I checked into the small hotel about an hour later, and found myself too wound up to sleep. So, I ventured out into one of the world’s most exciting cities. I walked around the now-fashionable Notting Hill area, popped into a couple of pubs, and had an evening snack. Finally, late at night, I was tired enough to sleep.

If there was ever an experience that was the complete opposite of a Concorde flight it was my trip back home. On the day of the return flight, which departed around noon, I had to wait in a long line with the hope of getting a seat with my standby ticket. I was advised to be at the British Airways Victoria ticket office as early as possible, so I got there around 5:30 AM. I reached a ticketing desk a LONG time later and I was thrilled to hear that I could get a seat. The ticketing agent look perplexed as she noticed that my arrival ticket was issued for a Concorde flight, and there I was getting the cheapest fare available for my return. My ticket in hand I waited another long period at the coach (bus) station for a slow, crowded ride to Heathrow.

After a long, restless flight I arrived back at JFK, cleared Customs, collected my bags, and trekked to my car in the terminal’s vast parking lot. Then, the ride back to Philadelphia. It was an exhausting day. I plopped into bed as soon as I got home, totally worn out from my adventure.

Frank C. Guariglia has a diverse career background. He’s been an entrepreneur, telecommunications manager, and day trader. He currently runs a website, Frank’s Board, and he’s always interested in potentially profitable opportunities. Send him email