Adventures in Flying…

It was a challenging, tense night, but in the end, all’s well that ends well…

Right?

Well, I would keep that sentiment to myself for a few days, lest you run head on into a hurricane, better known as my wife, who’s spent about 5 hours waiting for her canceled and then rescheduled flight from Chicago to White Plains, last night.  So a 10 PM arrival, transforms into an after Midnight arrival...and well, you know.  

All this on top of her 3 hour delay,Thursday morning, on her way out, because of nasty storms in Chicago. 

But luckily the Westchester County airport has lots to keep you entertained and amused while you wait…

Right?

Like watching the guy who checks your baggage run back and forth to the tarmac to spin the propellers on the planes, to get them revved up for takeoff.   Or the security guards who use those scanners that look like they were borrowed from the Stop N Shop.  They not only check you for safety purposes, but can tell you exactly how many coupons you’ve accumulated since your last visit. 

And Wednesday is triple coupon day, not to mention Senior Day!

Okay…I’m just kidding. 

The Westchester County/White Plains airport is already a modern air terminal, with well-trained staff and security personnel, all of which is also due for another major renovation and upgrade.  You can make your own joke here, but it really is a far cry from the days of literally being an old WWII Quonset Hut, where the guy who checked you in, really did check your luggage, ran it out to the plane, and if need be, ran you over with a security wand, that looked more like a cattle prod. 

I know this from first-hand experience since, in the early 70’s, my friend Phil and I were singled out, in a sea of suits, mostly for being a couple of college kids, dressed in flannel shirts & jeans, on our way back to Cornell and Syracuse (he was the ivy leaguer, not me).

Apparently the crew cut, ticket taker/baggage/security guy thought we might be one of those dang hippie types who hung out with Abbie Hoffman on a regular basis. But how could he know that Abbie had stopped calling years before, after he'd found out we refused to steal his book? (and if you don’t get that, you’re either way younger or way older than me)

Weren’t the 70’s great…despite the bad TV show and the weird fat collars?

So, anyway, aside from a few (Airline who shan’t be mentioned) customer service personnel back in Chicago, who will most likely have a difficult time sitting and or standing for a few days, no one was really all the worse for wear.

And no, there is no truth to the rumor that a crazed skinny woman in an over sized "Windy City" sweatshirt was seen wrestling with another Mountain Lion in the backwoods of Greenwich. 

That was all just speculation. 

But she’s finally home and already things are pretty much back to normal.

The laundry systems working again, so I can cancel the plumber.

The coffee maker is back to normal and the wall to wall carpet has been restored. 

All before 7 AM!

And I did do the dishes, even though I saw them all back in the dishwasher.

Go figure….