I arrived at the doorstop of my final destination (Maine) at 4:30 AM EST, approximately 15 hours after I left my apartment in Chicago. It took two cabs, a train, and two planes to bring to my desired aim. Why such a long journey you ask? Well, the weather decided work against me today and thunderstorms tore through the east coast, hindering me from reaching my scheduled arrival of 9:30 PM EST.
The day began with an uneventful cab ride to the train station, where I then concerted to a 45-minute rumbling jaunt to O’Hare airport. Getting to the gate was a breeze; I practically skidded through security…wow, the day started great, but soon I would receive the fallacious news that my flight was delayed; my attitude took a 360.
My curiosity led me to inquire as to why my flight plan was altered, “Weather in New York, sir.” Hmmm…being the savvy one that I am, I immediately whipped out my Crackberry and looked up the weather. “Strange, says here that it is partly cloudy in New York,” I expressed cordially. “Well, sir, the weather is coming in shortly,” was the attendant’s coy reply. Unacceptable was my first thought, but I decided to concede with an expletive and accept the hour delay, which I could almost count on turning into a two-hour delay…I was right.
Stirring about the gate, I realized that I did not have a direct flight, and proceeded to notify my ride from the Portland airport of my potential tardiness, as I was sure to miss my connecting flight. Little did I know that that was the least of my worries.
So, after a couple hours of delay, I finally got onto the airplane (Jet Blue) and was pleasantly surprised as their boast of more leg room was in fact a reality. As well, they offered Direct TV, another bonus, as I would surely need something to numb my frustrations…off to JFK.
Touching down, unplugging from the Discovery Channel, grabbing my bags, and heading to the gate, my anxiousness started to arise. I missed my connection and would now have to take a much later flight (I was not yet aware that I would be leaving much later than late.).
Not yet resolved in the complications of my travel plans, I proceeded to the customer service desk post haste (I added “post haste” for fun, heard it during a movie, wanted to see if I could place it in this post...works, right?). Luckily, my scurry forward proved beneficial, as the queue grew steadily behind me. Despite my luck, the line did not move very quickly and to poke fun at my angst, two agents came behind the desk and fared far away from offering any sort of assistance despite the score of weary travelers looking urgent to settle their intent. There is nothing worse than waiting for customer service when they are short staffed. You would think a large corporation would have a plan in place for situations like this one, but my angle seemed not to mirror that of Jet Blue. No worries, I was now next in line, but I could not help but feel sorry for my comrades behind me.
For some odd reason, I felt my luck was going to change and I would be on a plane for Maine at 10:00 PM EST; my luck failed, or did not exist at all; the flight was pushed back and was now scheduled for 11:45. Furious, I shared my distaste for the situation and sped off to find a sports pub to grab a beer and a bite. In an attempt to cheer myself up and change my attitude (thinking that perhaps I could change the course of the evening), I decided to relinquish my choice of beverage and bite to the bartender; and she did me right. I enjoyed two flavorful beers and a juicy chicken sandwich while watching the Spankee’s (Yankees in Red Sox fan speak) beat KC on the tube. Quickly, my demeanor shifted and I was calm, open to whatever the night would bring (I was not however, aware that the night would carry me into the wee hours of the morning.).
Quick transgression; I just logged onto Gmail and low-and-behold, there is Tank-a-licious online. It is 4 AM in Chicago right now…let’s see if he responds, and how. I am aure he had a late night out and about in Chicago.
Jump back; JFK is the dirtiest airport I have ever seen. And, with all of the weather delays, scores of people were lounging around, sour about their current bearings, hence trash was everywhere, and it seemed that JFK decided to send home every single custodial engineer; it was not a pretty site, and I would be embarrassed if I was the owner of the airport on this day. Enough of sanitation; am I going to make it to Maine tonight? The outlook looks bleak.
It is 11:45 PM and suddenly it is thundering and lightening, and soon after that, a downpour drenches the airport; the airport closes. Abruptly, my flight goes from 11:45 PM to unknown, as my plane has been diverted to another airport….and the worst of it, they do not know where. Fury encompasses the airport. New Yorkers are screaming murder. I decide to find solace in some small talk with a couple of stranded travelers and blur the potentials from my mind. Perhaps a phone call break will thrust time forward and bring me closer to boarding a plane…it worked, and E proved to be a savior in my quest to trick myself.
Finally, around 1 AM we got some news, but it was not a complete purge of information, and soon the crowd erupted again; expletives were flying like daggers through the terminal, and soon the threat of security measures bellowed from the intercom…I immediately erupted in laughter, as I succumbed to the reality of my situation hours ago, and was at peace with what the night/morning had planned for me, but my fellow journeymen/women were not in the same frame of mind. Time for some more distractions.
Enthralled in my book, Confederacy of Dunces (I suggest for everyone), a beacon of truth whispered over the loud speaker. My plane was in route and I would be boarding at 2:45 AM EST…finally. My flight was not the only one to see some light at the end of the tunnel, and soon the scores of people were reduced to just a few stragglers...the gate was growing empty.
Soon enough I would be on my plane, with extra leg room and 36 channels of Direct TV, although what could possible be on at this time of night…I settled for the Two Corey’s (Feldman and Haim), which was quite obnoxious.
So, my plane finally made it to Maine (54 minutes from NY to Maine, not bad), and I was left pondering what I could have possibly learned through the events of the past 15 hours;
- Bypass JFK whenever possible: they have the most delayed flights of any other airline;
- Call someone: having someone to call when you are delayed it key; it helps pass the time;
- Meet people: there are a lot of interesting people in airports, spark conversation. I always go after a random conversation at an airport, and it always proves to be an enlightening experience;
- Bring a laptop: the Internet is a great way to kill some time;
- Bring a book: they reading makes you smart; and, most importantly
- Laugh: getting frustrated only leads to more frustration, and more often than not you are have zero control of the outcome; so let go and laugh.
In the end, I have not been having much luck with my travels to Maine. The last time I traveled to Maine it took more than 20 hours for me to reach my final destination. Not sure yet if this is a sign or not.
Oh yea, Frank-the-Tank did not repsond; too bad, would have been fun!
Me: I brought a car; can I leave it here while I use the truck?
Foofoo drinks, palm trees, sky-blue waters, tanned bodies, island music, and not much spoken English; that sums up the Dominican Republic experience.
I recently took the trek to Maine to visit my family for Thanksgiving, a trip I have not had to do in a long while, since I lived in Maine for the past 10 years. I always begin my trip with slight anxiety about potential issues because of my dependence on planes, trains, and automobiles, but alas, I was lucky, and ran into zero “technical” issues during my travels. And, it is always great to see the family...like old times! But, I have to share my experience on the trip back, and conlclude with some travel tips to live live by. 
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