MSP Car Chase

Hi All,
I'm Minneapolis, waiting for a tire to be changed on my connecting flight to Philadelphia. They entertained us in the boarding area with a highspeed police chase on TV from Dallas, with over 11 cars chasing some idiot in a Camry-sized vehicle doing a hundred plus. Unfortunately it was decided to board us before both the tire change and car chase were over. Check it out on the internet.
Looks like we're ready to go. Just felt the thunk of the jack going down.
Everybody have a great week
Smee

My aching back!

Here I am in Atlanta, to work at Morehouse College, Emory University and Georgia State. Staying at the downtown Hilton Garden Inn. Just recovering from last night's attempt to sleep. Went to bed at 11ish and slept soundly until 12:23 when I discovered that while sleeping on the left side, I would occassionally get too warm/uncomforfable and attempt to roll to the other side of the bed. That's when I discovered there was kind of a wall and hill in the center of the bed. This may sound like a small inconvenience, but if Wilbur and Orville used a similar slope to launch their first airplane the aircraft industry would be years ahead of its present point and we could conceivably be living on Mars. I watched the digital clock until 3AM when I finally couldn't take it any longer and turned on the light and found a card with the title "In Room Comfort Guide". Lo and Behold I was on a Garden Sleep System bed that was providing me with a "Restorative Night's Sleep"! Yay! So I pumped up the right side and softened the left side. WooHoo! The results were similar to the bunny hill at [insert your favorite ski resort here]. I could get to the other side, but a rope tow would have helped.

Tonight I sleep on the other bed. I'll let you know................

Smee

Exercising in Philly

Made it!
When i got to the airport I stupidly went to NWA since I had a NWA ticket. "No", the machine said. "You have to check in with Delta, which is at the other end of the airport. That would be about a mile from here." So I hoof it for a half hour, happy that I have enough time to make it anyway. At the Delta end I stand in line for a while until they have a few kiosks available on the other side of the crowd, so another guy and I wander over there only to discover that the machines won't check us in because we have NWA tickets. So we get back in line behind the people who got in during our absence. After an hour wait the agents are frantically looking for Salt Lake passengers and bring us to the front and get us on our way. Once through Security I find myself with enough time to get some food to take on the plane, since the agent said I missed 1st class by a row. I wolf down a piece of pizza and a Coke just in time to board - in 1st class, where I'll probably get something to eat. Oh well better to be 1st and full than last and empty. CU soon.

Smee

Goin' to Kansas City - They got some crazy little women there and most of them work at the airport.

So I got done working at Stowers Institute in KC after a day of everything going wrong and just enough time to make it to one of the worst laid out airports in the country. Got off the rental car shuttle but when the driver announced "Terminal B". He didn't mention that Delta is not at the beginning of the concourse but 3/4's of a mile away at the other end.

Signage isn't particularly descriptive either. Consequently I barely made it to my gate in time toooooooooo............wait for 2 hours while mechanics tried usuccessfully to repair the wing flaps. When it was officially a 'mechanical' problem, the Gate Fairies began to work their magic. We all stood in line once more for 45 minutes to see what they could do for us.

"Well Mr. Papp, since you are Double Platinum Purple Gold and Diamond we are going to switch that nasty 1st Class seat on your old plane and get you into Row 38 on this plane and get you out right now. You've got plenty of time in Atlanta to make your connection to Roanoke tonight!"

Well, maybe. Assuming the plane doesn't leave a half hour late and the plane you're trying to catch isn't leaving from C47 and you land at A15 and the damn thing left 10 minutes early anyway. So now I'm in line again, eagerly anticipating the next part of my adventure. No, actually I'm getting pissed at this point. "So how do I get my luggage?"

"You can't Sir. It goes to a secured area and will be put on your plane to Roanoke tomorrow morning, where you will have no access to a hotel room since you are now staying in a flophouse on us in Atlanta tonight. No really, you CAN get your bag, it will just take 6 hours for us to find it assuming it made it onto this plane in the first place, which is unlikely since, in a cost-saving move, Delta is hiring baggage handlers directly from Mrs. Fergusson's 4th grade class in Sussex County Mediocre Minds Elementary. But cheer up. Here is a bag of essentials to cover up the fact that you're one step away from living under a bridge, and it contains a dandy SkyTeam tee shirt so you can advertise to your friends how we took care of you tonight. Have a nice evening."

So I get in another line - this one to wait for a bus to the Courtyard Inn North, only there isn't a bus to Courtyard Inn North, so I ask the driver of the Courtyard Inn South if there is another bus. He says "Yeah, but I'll drop you off myself". So the nice man drops me off in front of the hotel, I give him a couple bucks for going out of his way and walk in waving my airline chit. The clerk looks at it and says "Sir, this is the Country Inn. The Courtyard is across the street". She points to another building. So I walk across the street, but being smarter now, I look at the sign this time. "Wellesley Inn". She pointed across the wrong street!

I give up. So I dumped my laptop and new tee in my room and went down to the "Mexican" restaurant. You don't wanna know..........Hoping to be back someday.

The Other One Was Beautiful!

So I'm in the airport and as I'm walking down the concourse I see two women in passing, walking together holding hands, one dressed like a guy. As I am waiting in my seat on the plane who should appear, but the two of them, standing by my seat kissing about 10 times and who stays with me while the other heads for the back of the plane???? Of course, I get the 'guy'! It keeps looking over its shoulder longingly toward the back. Ick! Gotta run.
Smee

Don't Fly Southwest

So I'm finally on a plane from Baltimore to Tampa. It was supposed to leave at 7:50. I left Johns Hopkins at 4:56 and was worried I wouldn't make it, but it only took about an hour. When I got to the airport the plane was already delayed until 8:00, so I had time to get some food. When I got to the gate they announced a mechanical which delayed it another 25 minutes. Now that we're on the plane they decided to wait another 20 minutes for another plane to land. We've already been on the plane 20 minutes and they just announced the other plane just landed. Now we'll have to wait for not only passengers, but luggage to be transferred.

To keep us occupied they had a contest to guess how much fuel will be burned on the flight. The answer was 1689 gals. I guessed 1829, so I don't feel too bad.OK, I've had enough fun now.

Let's get this plane a- rollin'.

Nyaah Nyaah Doubletree!

So I ended up staying in Bethesda an extra night due to the extreme stupidity of my jobular circumstances. Last night I stayed at the Doubletree about a third of a mile down the street from the National Institute of Health where I worked yesterday and today, for a rate of $167.

I checked with the front desk when I left this morning to see if they would have a room should I return tonight and was assured they would. When I got back at 8PM they said, "Sure we've got a room, but for $269. We've only got 8 rooms left". That's my definition of gouging.

They did call the Hilton down the same street 5 miles and found a room for $149, so I moved my butt 5 miles down the road and told the Hilton desk clerk my tale of woe. She said "I have a special rate for you." I thought that meant the $149 quoted by the Doubletree clerk, but no. Now, instead of the small single king room for $249 I am in a two room king suite with two TV's for.....................................................wait for it....................

$109!!!!I'll bet that Doubletree room is still empty. Sometimes justice prevails.That's my story and I'm stuck with it.

Smee