Daily Archive

As if traveling to California, Oregon, Washington, and Iowa weren’t enough for the holidays, American Airlines has decided that I should stop for a night in Texas as well. It must be one of their frequent flier rewards programs. “At American Airlines, we know you have very little desire to see your family on Christmas, so if you fly with us, we promise to delay most of our flights so that you end up in random cities like Dallas, Texas. Here you’ll enjoy such attractions as continental breakfast and an unforgettable view of the airport. Fly American, and live the dream!”

So tonight, instead of making it home to Iowa, instead of seeing my family, I will be lodging alone with my books and my laptop. Since the plane I was scheduled to be on malfunctioned, not in the air at least, they had to switch planes which has caused a two hour delay. And, as a result of the two hour delay, I will miss my connecting flight which leaves an hour before I get there. Maybe I’ll get there in time to watch it take off though.

But it could be worse I suppose. It could be a lot worse. Like the men and women last night who were standing outside of the Salvation Army here in Portland. There must have been more than 50 people waiting outside in the cold and the rain, trying to find somewhere to stay for the night. And how ridiculous it would be for me to complain about a night’s stay in a hotel, paid for by someone else.

I suppose I could allow myself to get irate. Let my emotions take over and become furious because things aren’t working out EXACTLY as I had planned them! Or…I could relax, go with the flow, and remind myself that even though I’m coming down with a cold, even though I’ve been sitting in the Portland airport for three hours, and even though I’ll be spending the night before Christmas Eve in Dallas, alone in a hotel, I actually have it pretty damn good.

Oh…here are some pictures from Oregon and Washington.