The moment the merciless “September Blues” started to creep in, I decided to pack my bags and escape to sun-drenched Madrid to visit a long-lost friend. Fortuitously, no one was joining me on the short trip as I’m a nightmare travel companion. I fret days before a flight, frantically research the safest place to sit on the plane, leave hours, if not days, before the flight is due to depart, and tend to rely on the shaky crutch of alcohol to assuage concerns of a tempestuous flight.