It Must Be True

March 10-16, 2014

By Jay Edwards

Ever been to Johnson County, Tenn.? I made the trip a few years back. 

Going, it without a hitch; planes leaving on time, good weather, decent legroom. There is always a debt to pay with good fortune, however.

I was traveling with PB (Publisher Boss), and we figured we had plenty of time to get some coffee and still fill up the rental car, so Avis wouldn’t charge us $6.99 a gallon. 

After dropping off the Tahoe we were informed at the Delta check-in desk that our flight was going to be delayed an hour. Not good, as we only had about 40 minutes to make our connection in Atlanta. 

A nice Delta lady put us on the stand-by list for a later flight leaving Atlanta at 2:32. You know the stand-by list. It’s where you stand by, looking desperate, hoping you make the final cut. It’s the airline’s version of “Deal or No Deal.” 

As we walked toward our terminal, PB said, “There is a lesson to be learned here.” 

“Always drive?” I said. 

“Always give yourself plenty of time to make the next flight,” he said. 

At the security checkpoint I quickly filled four busboy tubs with my belongings – shoes, laptop, laptop case, watch, car keys, cell phone, wallet, loose change, and some orange Tic Tacs. 

When the beeper sounded as I walked through the scanner, I took off my watch. It beeped again and I remembered the glasses on top of my head, but the high-pitched technology still judged me a threat and so the young lady, who was keeper of the flight gate, asked me if I had any cavities. I showed them to her and she rolled her eyes and told me to walk back through a little slower, which finally worked.

We sat at the gate awhile when PB came up with the idea that we try and get on with another airline in Atlanta. So we headed back to the check-in desk where we were told that we were now confirmed on the 2:32 Atlanta to Little Rock flight. Suddenly life was good again, and all from just standing by.

Back through security, which I passed without a hitch, but got a funny look from the gatekeeper. So I asked her if she ever saw that “Twilight Zone” episode where the lady was driving and kept seeing the same hitchhiker over and over. 

But she was a no-nonsense gatekeeper and told me to keep moving. 

We sat down at the gate under the TV, which was on CNN. I was half listening to some story about a bunch of teenage girls who had made some pact to get pregnant when a voice from above said that our flight would be delayed another 15 minutes. 

We both shook our heads and I went after more Tic Tacs to calm my nerves.

We boarded and taxied out for take off and the pilot came over the intercom to tell us the pattern was full in Atlanta and that they wanted us to wait a few minutes before taking off; something to do with “air flow.” He said that once we did take off he would try and make up for the loss time. “Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of waiting to take off?” PB said to me as I crunched harder on my Tic Tacs.

We arrived in Atlanta at 2:25. Our flight to Little Rock was leaving at 2:32. Hopefully it was delayed. 

We got inside the D terminal, but needed to be at Gate C30. It was 2:40. We stopped at a desk and asked an attendant if our flight was still here.

To be continued.