My Hellacious Flight Home

After my wildly successful Memorial weekend trip, I had to suffer the indignities of flying home on a commercial airline. There were no Lear jets available on my budget...I checked. I got to Logan International in Boston a bit early, so I treated myself to some Sushi...which was excellent! That was really one of the last good thing that happened on this day. We boarded the plane on time (a first) and then the announcement came from the pilot that there was some rather nasty weather in the NY area and we would not be able to take off. We would get an update in 20 minutes. Since I was flying Air Tran, I just plugged in my headphones and listened to some Satellite radio. No problem. I had a one-hour layover in Atlanta, and a 15-minute delay would make no difference to me. Others were already whining. (At least 'Large & Angry' wasn't sitting next to me this time!) 15 minutes later, we got our update: we would get another update in 45 minutes. OK, now I knew I would miss my connection in Atlanta. No big deal, right? I'm a seasoned traveler, so this didn't really ruffle my feathers too much. I called Big D and asked him to go online and check for Air Tran flights from Atlanta to Phoenix that night. Bad news: mine was the last one. We finally took off for Atlanta after over an hour of sitting at the gate. At this point, my knees and hips were screaming at me, and my neck was ready to give out. I couldn't take my pain medication because I would have been inoperable upon arrival in Atlanta. So, I took a few Advil and listened to some Bob Seger. I find that Seger is always soothng to the soul. :) After landing in Atlanta, I immediately proceeded to the Air Tran customer service desk. Apparently, two flights to LaGuardia, NY had just been cancelled due to the previously mentioned nasty weather. So there was a very long line of angry New Yorkers ahead of and behind me. When I finally got to the customer service desk, the woman was really very nice. I felt bad for her, because angry New Yorkers are not kind, and she had been taking verbal beatings for quite some time. I explained my situation to her, and she checked on flights for me. The next available flight to Phoenix was at 10:15 the next morning. I told her (using my extra-special nice voice) that having recently been in a car accident and with my arthritis issues, there was no way I could possibly spend 14 hours in an airport overnight. I said, "You need to make this right." Here is what she told me: (looking at all the angry New Yorkers in line behind me), "Go have some dinner (here's a voucher), and come back to see me in one hour." I said thank you very much and went first to the smoking lounge and then to grab a bite. The smoking lounge was also full of angry New Yorkers, so I had a quick ciggie and got the hell out of dodge! Had one of the worst burritos I've ever had in my life and then back over to the Air Tran counter. The angry New Yorkers had mostly dispersed, but there was one left, and he was yelling and screaming at the woman who had helped me. She had to get a manager involved, and I seriously thought that airport security was going to come and get him. Once he was settled down, I was given a voucher for the Airport Sheraton, and another meal voucher for breakfast at the Sheraton in the morning. She booked me on the 10:15 to Phoenix, and I was on my way. The Sheraton was nicer than trying to sleep on an airport bench, but it wasn't home. It had been a long trip with little sleep and I just wanted my own bed. Regardless, I slept soundly after a quick shower. My flight to Phoenix the next day went without incident, and my bags arrived safely, too. That last angry New Yorker? After all his yelling and screaming and carrying-on, all he got was a discount coupon for a crappy off-airport hotel. I guess that just goes to show that being nice pays off! :)