Let me preface this article by telling you that I am a very fearful flyer. I am the person sitting on the airplane that is silently thinking we will be crashing at any given minute. I really do try and relax and I’m not so terrible that I need to drink alcohol or take a sedative during the flight. It’s just that the plane needs to be totally smooth the entire time in order for me to be calm.

Anyway, a while back my friend Sandra and I planned a Las Vegas trip and on Saturday, June 9, we were ready to go. After boarding the plane at O’Hare, we got settled in and took out our reading materials.

“Ooh, let’s read our horoscope,” said Sandra who had brought the day’s Sun Times. (We are both Gemini’s.)

“Oh, I never read those but okay,” I said nonchalantly. And then, as the plane zoomed down the runway, this is what Sandra read aloud. Keep in mind this is the word-for-word horoscope from the Saturday, June 9 edition of the Sun Times.

“Gemini (May 21-June 20): Things will definitely go sideways today. Don’t be rigid about holding to your pre-arranged schedule or your so-called Saturday plan. It aint going to happen. This is also an accident-prone day—so be careful. Guard against breakage at home or electrical problems, especially related to technology. Crash!”

Isn’t that a fun horoscope to read as a fearful flyer’s plane is taking off? At this point I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to try to get off the plane right then and there or just wait a few hours for some electrical problem with the engine or computer system and be blown to smithereens.

“Let’s just put the paper away,” said Sandra as she shoved it under her seat. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

I tried to keep my mind occupied for the next few hours by watching the non-controversial airplane movie and eating several large bags of M & M’s. Luckily for everyone on the plane, the entire flight was pretty smooth. Of course, once we landed we still had the scary cab ride to the hotel and thousands of chances to get hit by a car as we walked along The Strip that day.

After returning home form the trip, I recalled meeting the perfect person with whom to discuss that dreaded horoscope. She is astrology enthusiast Tammi Mika, who is also a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) in Buffalo Grove. Mika has been doing astrology for the past 7 years and got involved “by speaking with people and just being intrigued. I went to the bookstore, read books, researched, worked on the computer and then started doing personal horoscopes.”

Then I asked Tammi what I should have done after reading such a horrible horoscope. “It was out of the newspaper which means it was what can happen to anyone under that sign—maybe just one person and no one else,” says Tammi. “You just take those with a grain of salt because they’re pretty vague. The horoscope could have meant something as simple as you’re going through a revolving door and it doesn’t work.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten off the plane, but I probably would have found a computer and found my individual horoscope pertaining to me exactly,” says Mika. “I just would have assumed it doesn’t mean me. There are a lot more planets involved that have to do with your destiny. The horoscope tells you many different scenarios that can happen so you can think about what you want to do. As for the rest of the day, I wouldn’t have been paranoid, maybe just a little more careful.”

“Astrology is interesting,” says Mika. “A lot of people don’t believe in it but I do and I have fun with it. Everyone thinks I’m very unique and I’ve learned a lot. Information is power. It gives you choices and makes you more aware. With astrology you learn a lot about yourself that you might not have realized before.”

“I really like doing relationship horoscopes,” says Tammi. “It’s really fun to compare the two charts together. You can study any kind of relationship like co-workers, friends, family members and romance.”

There are a lot of great websites and books on astrology but Tammi recommends “www.astro.com for a more accurate and personal horoscope and ‘Astrology for Dummies’ which is really good for beginners and makes things really easy to understand.” If you’d like more information on personal horoscopes email Tammi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

And as for the rest of my horrible-horoscope day, when the clock struck midnight I was definitely relieved that neither Sandra or myself had even so much as gotten a paper cut on the slot machine credit slips or a stubbed toe while dashing to different blackjack tables. We even had an extra two hours of our day due to the time difference and still we were fine. Either way, next time I go on a trip I will definitely keep away from the horoscope section of any newspaper or magazine.

© 2007 Susan Dubin, Buffalo Grove, Illinois