Airport Hell
I returned the rental car right on time. Four hours of driving from the central coast. No delays through San Jose. Confident. My flight is at 2:30. I zip my credit card through the self check-in machine. Canceled. Weather. Somewhere between San Francisco and Chicago. The AA desk agent asks me if Continental through Minneapolis would be OK. Certainly! I smile. But then. She stops. And utters a single word. Travelocity. She stops chirping. My face falls. No inter-airline changes. Travelocity policy. Their corporate dollars up against my time. I lose. There are other AA flights. No, I am told. There are no connections for me from Chicago. People are already sleeping in the airport there. There are no hotels. And I. Must wait. Eleven hours. 660 minutes of my life. And fly through the night.
A nap on the floor. A novel. Knitting. Crossword puzzle. Lather, rinse, repeat. And repeat and repeat. I overhear dozens of cell phone conversations. I do not want to know the details of their [family] [work] [pets] [travel plans] or [intimate lives]. I mentally check "None of the above," but can't find a phone-free space. This is not my finest zen hour. Snarky. Barbed. Rockity. Knowing I won't be home until morning.
posted by Lucia @ 9:55 AM
10 Comments:
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Ugh. Comment boxes need spell/grammar check. Let's try this again...
We can't be zen-like ALL the time. I'm sorry for the layover. I hate airports. Did I ever tell you about the time the airport lost me. I was 8. My Mom had paid extra for me to have a guide. Instead, I missed my flight and they stuck me in a holding room for four hours. They didn't contact either of my parties either. My nerves were in such a jumble when I finally landed that I puked all over the nice man sitting beside me.
New definitions of hell are being created all the time.
Just when i get the urge to do some adventurous travel, this tale comes along. I guess it's a good thing they don't allow weapons into airports. I might have been tempted to use one.
Amusing is right. We need to find the reincarnation of Dante because these seven rungs need some serious updating.
I once heard there is a device called a "cell phone blocker". They will jam the cell transmission and cause the call to drop.
Peace,
~Chani
Oh man - sometimes I really wonder if the airlines are actual businesses that want to make money or not. Most of them are run like Soviet-era offices where "secretaries" still use manual typewriters.
Sending you good travel vibes....
ugh. double ugh.
but you are home now.
You know, anytime you need to crash on a floor in Chicago---if you can get that far---my floor is all yours. :)
See the only problem I would have with that is all the bodies everywhere. Just people everywhere and all in your personal space. I could fill 11 hours doing things I enjoy - I would WELCOME it - but surrounded by hundreds of other people? Annoying people at that?
Ugh, you have my sympathies.
For as much as crowds of people have to spend hours sitting around in airports, it is a wonder that most of them are cold, plastic uncomfortable places to be.
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