Lovely.

You know the type. Maybe you’ve never flown with ‘Darrell’, but you know the type.

Darrell boarded my charter flight to Cuba around 6:00 am after a night of driving and then drinking, as he informed everyone being held captive in the cabin with him.

Not long after we took off, Darrell was drinking his duty free booze. Plus, the charter airline kept serving him alcohol. I guess anything goes in premium class.

Long story short, he tortured everyone in his vicinity. Bothering us to engage in conversation. Staggering to the bathroom and back numerous times. Muttering to himself.

By the time we landed in Cuba, he was loaded to the power of 10. I’m surprised he wasn’t arrested at the airport.

Darrell’s first act after clearing customs was to buy and consume a six pack.

As ‘luck’ would have it, Darrell was on my hotel shuttle. Which was late. Almost two hours late. Guess how he spent the time?

At one point, Darrell attempted to board a different shuttle. I hoped they’d let him on. No such ‘luck’. Then, he passed out on the sidewalk. Someone actually woke him up to board our shuttle when it finally arrived. He staggered to the back and passed out again. Thank goodness.

My hunch that Darrell would be on the return flight proved correct and terrifying.

Luckily, he was moved to a different cabin to make room for a pilot who was deadheading.

Third time lucky for me!

For the life of me, I cannot figure out how people like Darrell don’t end up dead or in jail in a foreign country.