Last week, I traveled to beautiful San Diego. To most, that would signify a great, relaxing time. However, I am one who constantly has things happen to them when they travel. Once I’m there, no problem. Getting there… that’s where my life becomes like the movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles. Something always goes wrong.
I was to fly out on Wednesday July 7 at 7:30 p.m. on Southwest Airlines.
I arrived early at BWI and checked in record time -- no lines, no problems… was my luck finally changing?
As I made my way through security and into the terminal, the skies darkened and it began to rain like I had never seen. Thunder, lightning… planes were no longer visible on the runway and an eerie silence hovered throughout the terminal.
Ah, my famous touch again.
I decided to grab a bite since surely I was in for a long night ahead. So, I headed over to the only area that was not packed, the hot dog stand. You can’t order a regular hot dog anymore, they all have fancy names. There’s the Happy Dog, Big Dog, Lucky Dog… I was just hoping for the thoroughly-cooked dog, and then headed over to the bar to join the fun.
We keep hearing on the news about people getting excessively drunk on planes and we ask, why? Yet, when you walk up to the bar and ask for a drink, the response from the bartender is always: “For $2 more you can have a double.” I said, “Why not?” figuring the pilot was probably not going to be needing my assistance operating the aircraft.
Upon finishing my double Scotch on the rocks, I swaggered back to the gate to check on the status. “Looks like 10:30 p.m. the attendant said over the mike, plane is still in Chicago.”
The airport is a place where you can see so much going on, make many observations and is probably one of the greatest places to watch people. People with happy reunions, sad departures, and people who go nuts. Clearly, with a storm this bad there are bound to be delays, but for many it was like they were oblivious to what was going on outside.
The news shows were documenting the cars that were floating away from this flash storm in Baltimore. However, people were hollering at the Southwest worker wanting to know why is the plane was not here. For those who have ever worked at a tennis or golf club, this reminded me of the people who would call during monsoon rains and ask, “Are the outdoor courts or golf course playable?”
Well, it’s 9:30p.m.and still an hour to go, and people start lining up at the gate in the A B and C boarding rows to board the plane which has not arrived. Another thing I have never understood: Southewest has open seating, so when you get on the plane you can sit wherever you want. If you’re a single traveler and are first on the airplane -- sure, you can pick any seat you want, but you are still going to have some stranger like myself next to you. For a single traveler, having boarding pass number 10 or 100 is irrelevant.
Finally, we boarded the plane which had just arrived and I settled into my seat next to an older lady who looked tired. “Will you do me a favor and wake me when they bring by the peanuts?” Yes m’am Have you ever noticed how on an airplane the smallest things in your normal life become so much more important? Can you imagine at home, “Dear, can you bring me a bag of those four honey roasted peanuts? I feel like a snack.” On an airplane, are they really worth being woken up for?
You also realize how many people have strange drinking habits. When the flight attendant comes around to take your order, you hear people making concoctions with sodas you didn’t know existed. Could you give me five ice cubes, tomato juice and a quarter cup of sprite? What is that about!?
It sure felt like we were sitting on the runway a while when an announcement was made…”Lldies and gentlemen, I have to apologize but the pilots who are flying this leg of the trip have not gotten into the airport yet. Their flight in was delayed. Don’t worry, they should be here in another 15 or 20 minutes, will do their flight check and we will be ready to go in about 30 minutes.”
That is not a good feeling!
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Complimentary drinks from the attendants to keep all happy, my seatmate got her six peanuts and was in heaven, and I arrived in San Diego at around 2:30 a.m.
All in all, another one of my patented great trips. Just do yourself a favor, if you ever see that you’re on the same flight as me, change planes. You will be glad you did.
