Home Again For a Day

The trip to Michigan went pretty well though getting there seemed like it was going to be problematical.

I left two days before the Engineer so that I could spend some time with my Dad's younger sister and her family. They have dogs and he's never learned to cope with canines, so it's best to keep them separated for the most part.

The plane boarded as scheduled, then we sat there at the gate. And sat there. And sat there. After about a half hour, the pilot came on the speaker system and told us we were delayed due to "The Annunciation."

This, as you might imagine, piqued my curiosity.

So we sat at the gate for another half hour and I kept looking for a heavenly light or, at the very least, a dove. Didn't see anything, didn't hear any hallelujah choruses.

There was another announcement about "drain mast heat" and a possible bad circuit.

Half an hour later, the pilot told us it looked like a wiring problem, they were going to have to turn off the plane, and that we should disembark.

Dang!

We all got off the plane and milled around at the gate. Those folks with connections in Detroit were more than a little perturbed. I called my Aunt and told her not to hold dinner for me.

The airline must have figured we needed to be placated, so they announced that there would be food vouchers given away several gates down the terminal, so we all hustled down there and stood in line to scan our boarding passes on the one working scanner. Upon reaching the head of the line, I was rewarded with a computer printed coupon for $7 at the airport restaurant of my choice, so I walked into the only one between me and the gate and put in an order, only to hear my flight called for reboarding.

Murphy rules.

We reboarded in double time, the plane taxied out and the pilot announced we were first in line to take off.

When we got to the end of the runway, the wind changed. The plane crunched to a ponderous halt and the pilot announced that we would have to turn around and taxi to the far side of the airport for a different runway. Perhaps events like this are the real reason they don't let passengers carry flammable materials or pointy objects on the plane...

We lucked out, though, someone started laughing his butt off and the rest of the cabin joined in. That must have been what was needed to lift our jinx, because we taxied to the far runway, then soared into the air for a smooth flight to Detroit.

Naturally, the Engineer's flight on Friday left as scheduled and arrived 15 minutes early.