Movie What-Ifs

Do you ever have fleeting moments where you seriously consider what you would do if your actions had no negative consequences? I'm not talking about criminal things, but rather bold decisions that kick practicality into the gutter where it belongs. I call these moments Movie What-Ifs.

Characters in movies are always making undaunted life decisions with no real thought to consequences like money, time, or responsibilities. I often think that life would be more exciting if we behaved this way; acting with our hearts and not our heads.

As I sat in the JFK airport in New York, waiting for my delayed plane to have its wings de-iced and to depart on my final, and most elusive, flight of the journey, I stared outside at the slushy snow drifting past the airport windows.

What if I just turned around and went back? I thought. My exhausted eyes glazed over as I imagined myself picking up my bags, strutting up to the Saudi Air desk, and slamming my passport down onto the counter. I need a ticket on your next flight to Riyadh, and please hurry! I imagined myself saying. I'm not meant to be here. This was a mistake. I pictured myself handing over my credit card without even hearing the price, grabbing the ticket, and hightailing it back to my gate. No thoughts of affordability, no thoughts of the new job I'll be starting soon, no thoughts of sitting on another thirteen-hour flight -- just doing what I want, and consequences be damned. Yeah... that's it. Wait, why am I still sitting here? That's TOTALLY what I shou--

"Attention passengers on Delta Shuttle flight 6729 with service to Washington Reagan," interrupted a heavy Brooklyn accent on the PA system. "Your flight has been further delayed due to wing de-icing. Please stay in the boarding area for further instructions."

Daydream shattered, I went back to watching the snowshower flit down onto the runways. It was silly anyway, I thought. Consequenceless action... I took a bite of my Balducci's turkey sandwich. There's just no such thing.