Beating The Storm---Travel Tales

With so many stories lately about flying fatalities due to weather, fellow passengers on my recent trip from Florida to Atlanta were getting fidgety at the gate watching dark storm clouds rolling in.

Apparently they weren't the only ones as airline personal began boarding our flight early, urging everyone to move swiftly so we could take off before the storm hit. WOW,  if only travelers were this efficient at finding their seats and stowing their bags on a regular basis!

We did it, pulled away from the gate a record 20 minutes early, but alas, it was not meant to be. It wasn't weather but a pesky warning light from a clogged galley drain that made us return to the gate and wait for maintenance. By this time the storm had indeed passed.

As we sat patiently waiting for the problem to be fixed I would occasionally hear the exclamations of a young child, quickly followed by a shushing from the parent. If they only knew their constant shushing was louder and more irritating than the questions of their child. Last time I flew with a curious child it was one of the best times I've had.

Too bad the shushing parent couldn't get ahold of the loud talkers who became even louder with the roar of the engine temporarily silenced. A man and a woman forced to sit next to each other apparently felt the need to get to know each other, and in turn let the entire cabin in on their life story. In one hour I learned more about them than some co-workers I've known for ten years.

I was further enlightened in Atlanta while waiting for my connection, by a business traveler droning on and on about his $4 Chick-fil-A sandwich. His companion shocked, had he known it was only $4 he might have taken time to eat too. $10 or $12 was just way to much, but a $4 meal? Then there was the gushing over how GOOD it was for $4, real chicken you know, not a bunch of parts, and a tomato and lettuce too. The conversation was repeated nearly word for word, for a good three or four rounds.

I finally made it to my DC, grabbed a cab and half-way to my final destination noticed that like the plane, this vehicle also had a warning light on its control panel. It said check engine. I disembarked at my family's home, his car promptly died.

I've decided to walk the next few days.