Flying on the fly

I arrived to stand in line behind what seemed like an African Queen (complete with tribal hat) and her brood. She and her family seemed a little tethered for so early in the day and I noticed the bulky luggage they would have to have checked and eventually have to pick up to lug through various airports. A French woman came up to me and asked me if this was the line for Delta. I assured her it was and that having only internet paper prints was just fine. She continued to look worried. Well, I thought, here we go. When would it be my turn to lose it? Would it be early in the journey? How early? Now?
I decided to smile and greet the day and its people with a willingness to listen and go. So with everything in hand I stepped inside to e-check my bags and my ticket. A lady asked me to help her and I politely took her through the steps. When it didn't work for her, she began to seek help like a lost child. Oh boy. Well, here we go.
To sum up, the trip was great, I found my connections, was able to grab bites and had fairly amiable people to sit by on board each plane. As I look back now I think the experience was so good, it was almost like a first baby. That first baby is so good, you think sure honey let's have another one. And then of course the second child comes in kicking and screaming into the world, demanding more attention than you know existed in your busy schedule.
The day was not without it's funny episode. As I was leaving the bathroom after arriving in Atlanta, I was tapped on the shoulder from behind. I turned to find a young college woman from my earlier flight who politely said "Like, you have like, a three-foot long piece of toilet paper stuck under your backpack." I turned three shades of red and found the nearest bathroom. She felt sorry for me because she added "Don't worry I think I'm the only one who saw."
Lovely, I thought.

Arriving in Frankfurt was a breeze. I was starting to hear more German and found I was o.k. with that. I found my baggage and looked around, no problem. There were signs and I was intelligent. I would ask for help and find the USO office, which is where Heidi told me to head. I walked up to an information desk and said good morning with the smile that had brought me this far. The clerk understood "USO" and pointed to the outside doors several yards away and said: "You need to go through those doors outside." O.k. I said and walked off.
As I was walking I began to notice a loud clicking sound that seemed to follow me everywhere. It was my suitcase making that noise, a recently acquired noise from, I could only assume, the talented Delta baggage personnel. Slightly annoying, as it seemed to announce my every move to the entire building. "Heather Shores has arrived in Frankfurt folks."
I walked to the outside doors and wondered why I would be sent outside to get to an office inside. Something didn't feel right. Did I misunderstand where he pointed?
I walked to another info desk and asked again. This time they told me Terminal C1. O.k. I can do that. I jumped on the sky train and off I went.
Long story short, I spent the next 2 hours walking around trying to find the (by this time)"stinkin'" USO. I had been sent to United Airlines by mistake and no one seemed to know USO. How is this possible? Heidi said there would be maps, there were no maps. After wandering around terminal A, B AND C, I finally headed back to terminal D/E. I would return to the baggage claim and wait. Heidi would have to find me there.
After 5 minutes of sitting I decided Frankfurt Airport was not going to beat me and I headed out again, this time with success. After checking very carefully when given directions and having the person point on a map, I gave it a go. Another sky train trip and escalator later, Heidi met me and we happily began our time together.