another instant classic
well, the first major winter storm of the season has marched its way across our country's mid section and you guessed it....
i flew right into the heart of it.
despite the initial cancellation of my flight from boston to dallas (and the supsequent 5 hour wait at at logan) my trip started off pretty uneventful. in fact, given the horrible weather in dallas and my destination, oklahoma city, the trip (though several hours later) was moving along just fine.
until we landed in oklahoma city.
ok, so here's the scenario. american airlines decided it was a good idea to fly into OKC in the aftermath of one of the biggest snow/ice storms they have had in several years. what we encountered when we arrived was as close as i ever want to come to a post-apocalyptic civilization. basically, the power had been knocked out at the airport. like OUT out. the emergency generators were keeping most everything lit to a degree, but there were no escalators. no baggage carousels. no auto-flush toilets. and sure as heck, no jet bridges.
suffice it to say, i now know what it is like to use the emergency aft staircase on a super 80 aircraft. and what's better, i know what it's like to use said stairs and then tromp through 100 yards of snow and ice...under the wing. so now i can say i've done that. though i was a little dissappointed that we couldn't inflate the emergency slides and jump out. maybe next time.
anyway, we got inside and what followed was a lesson in teamwork (myself naturally NOT included) as passengers pitched in and helped the baggage crew sort through the bags. after several unsuccessful waves, my bag finally showed up and i was off to find a cab driver crazy enough to take me to norman in this mess.
and there you have it. as you all know, it's never boring when i fly. and that's why it's called "fun with cade in airports.
incidentally, as if i needed ANOTHER reason to hate DFW, they have now installed these:
that's right, you now get the "convenient" opportunity to PAY to plug your portables (laptops, phone chargers, etc.) in. not to mention the various uber-vending machines (moto razrs, i-pods, l'oreal) or the busted sky link trams.
man, i hate that place.
i flew right into the heart of it.
despite the initial cancellation of my flight from boston to dallas (and the supsequent 5 hour wait at at logan) my trip started off pretty uneventful. in fact, given the horrible weather in dallas and my destination, oklahoma city, the trip (though several hours later) was moving along just fine.
until we landed in oklahoma city.
ok, so here's the scenario. american airlines decided it was a good idea to fly into OKC in the aftermath of one of the biggest snow/ice storms they have had in several years. what we encountered when we arrived was as close as i ever want to come to a post-apocalyptic civilization. basically, the power had been knocked out at the airport. like OUT out. the emergency generators were keeping most everything lit to a degree, but there were no escalators. no baggage carousels. no auto-flush toilets. and sure as heck, no jet bridges.
suffice it to say, i now know what it is like to use the emergency aft staircase on a super 80 aircraft. and what's better, i know what it's like to use said stairs and then tromp through 100 yards of snow and ice...under the wing. so now i can say i've done that. though i was a little dissappointed that we couldn't inflate the emergency slides and jump out. maybe next time.
anyway, we got inside and what followed was a lesson in teamwork (myself naturally NOT included) as passengers pitched in and helped the baggage crew sort through the bags. after several unsuccessful waves, my bag finally showed up and i was off to find a cab driver crazy enough to take me to norman in this mess.
and there you have it. as you all know, it's never boring when i fly. and that's why it's called "fun with cade in airports.
incidentally, as if i needed ANOTHER reason to hate DFW, they have now installed these:
that's right, you now get the "convenient" opportunity to PAY to plug your portables (laptops, phone chargers, etc.) in. not to mention the various uber-vending machines (moto razrs, i-pods, l'oreal) or the busted sky link trams.
man, i hate that place.
posted by cade at 10:20 PM
10 Comments:
ok, the cab ride to the hotel could be a post all unto itself.
it was basically a slow-paced, 45 minute journey into the barren wasteland that is central oklahoma at midnight after a debilitating storm. complete with stops at not one, but TWO 7-11s to hit up an atm (me) and get some hot coffee (him).
the driver (a grizzled man in his mid 60's) reassured me that we would be fine due to the "studded tires" he had on his ride. apparently, my vocal reaction wasn't very convincing since he felt compelled to demonstrate these tires...by slamming on the brakes in the middle of a stretch of 40 mph, ice-covered road...and again on the highway just to prove his point.
to his credit, the tires worked great.
and my knuckles are still a lovely shade of white.
I freaking love it. Dude . . . you need to write a book.
Welcome to the fair mother state.
You SHOULD write a book.
Do you know hate DFW more than ORD? Because I'd be sad if you betrayed ORD like that.
b- i haven't been to the mother city, but as a whole, the fair mother state (with the exception of mission and possibly austin) can bite me.
le- as i told jeff yesterday, there may be no airport that i hate more than DFW, but it cannot be argued that there is no aiport that HATES ME more than o'hare.
not that there is any love lost on my side.
the fair mo city would gladly bite you.
willingly.
hey, AAs new trains are wonderful compared to the old death TrAAms. on the old trains i can remember looking through cracks in the floor to concrete some 40 feet below.
DFW sucks almost as much as the entire metroplex. but in regards to the train, you got to give credit where credit's due.
yes, you're right. they are better than the death trAAms...when they work. and in my experience, that is only occassionally.
only you... and i mean this, only you manage to be this consistant. we all have stories. but you, only you are this consistant.
to paraphrase the disciples: "who sinned, this man or his parents" that he is born to this? jn 9:2
nice profile pic btw
Post a Comment
<< Home