Published: December 19, 2006 07:10 pm         

If You Ask Me by Guinn Sweet

Trip to Tampa has me rethinking my love for travel

By Guinn Sweet

sweettalk@mineralwellsindex.com

If you read my column last week, remember that I proclaimed that I travel just for the sake of travel. Let me amend that statement. I had a travel experience this past week that has caused me to reconsider the supposed thrill of travel for the next month or so.

It all started with a request by daughter Elaine for me to accompany her grandson, Kyle, to Tampa, Fla., to the home of his “other side of the family” on Thursday. All the proper arrangements were made for us to leave DFW at 6:30 a.m., arrive at some time after 9 a.m., deposit Kyle with his other grandparents and catch a turnaround plane at 10:50 a.m.

I was cool with those arrangements, except for the thought that a teenager (13) who is larger than I and smarter, too, had to have an adult to accompany him on a two-hour air trip.

The hassle started at DFW security. Hold on – the ride is starting and you might fall off!

Due to not watching him pack his bag, Kyle’s backpack was treated suspiciously (I’ll not tell you the details) and we were detained and security was called. We told the officers that the offending article was harmless, a toy, and could be discarded.

To no avail.

A supervisor was called, who called his supervisor, who was busy, but finally came and then called the main supervisor. The main supervisor said “DPS,” I began to snivel and when the police came, he looked at the object in question, began to laugh, I began to cry with relief, Kyle may have wet his pants (I am not sure of that), and the officer said “throw it away,” which was done with dispatch.

As we ran for the gate, the announcement was made that our plane was making the last call for loading. A I ran, the terminal began to shake and I think that is what stirred up the elements that brought on the storm with rain, thunder and wind that kept us sitting on the runway for the next hour and a half.

See the first paragraph above and you will understand what a series of mishaps and other stuff that event set off. We were late in getting to Tampa, eliminating any hope of a turnaround flight. The next flight was scheduled for 1:20 p.m., which I had to approach as a “standby” passenger. Then that flight was cancelled, supposedly because of the storm in Texas, and that moved me down to the 2:20 flight, along with a full load of passengers who meant to catch the 1:20 flight. At 2:20, it was announced that there was still a storm in Texas, and another flight was cancelled. The waiting area around gate 79 was getting more crowded and disrupted with every announcement.

I am a good traveler, so I said, ”What is to be will be.” Well, it did.

The 4:40 flight was filled with people on the way home to Dallas/Fort Worth and environs. That is the only thing that saved the situation because Texans, all armed with cell phones and laptops, were eager to help a little old lady traveling alone and with no luggage. I appreciated that.

There was a large group of ladies who had been to Tampa attending a Christian women’s meeting, and most of them thought I needed witnessing to, and I guess my expression told them that. I witnessed back, with a lot of Baptist doctrine talk, which settled them down somewhat. They got on the 4:40 flight.

The next plane was due to leave (the last flight of the day) about 6:30, but the “Texas storm” delayed it until nearly 8 p.m. I didn’t get on that one either. But I was upgraded to standby passenger No. 14! After that, they told us there would be one more flight out because they felt that to be only fair since it had been their flight cancellations that caused the backup of passengers. However, it was not long until the announcement was made that the last flight would be delayed, because the plane which would pick us up was coming from LaGuardia in New York City had a tire blow out just before liftoff and had to have it changed before it could continue.

While we waited, some people left, others came and we were just one big happy family. We were told that if we didn’t make that flight, all the others through the weekend were over-booked and we didn’t stand a chance. A nice gentleman from Waxahachie offered me dinner (I wasn’t hungry!), and then he offered his electronic toys. He called Elaine on his cell phone and let me explain my situation to her, then he contacted the Airport Comfort Inn (we give discounts to the mature traveler) and arranged for a room if I should have to spend the night.

At 10:12 p.m., after a day of waiting, the plane from New York arrived. I checked my standby order and found I had been elevated to No. 11. There were cries of bravo from those others who had waited for me, even the employees at the gate cheered. I was ushered aboard and seated in seat A, Row 32! As I gratefully sank into my seat, I looked out the window and could see, right before my eyes – a jet engine, running at high pitch!