Leaving for Cal at 8:40 in the AM. J gets me to the airport by 6:30 am. I get on line at the AMERICA WEST ticket counter. The line is forever long. I am on that line for about an hour and a half. When I get to the counter the ticket agent tells me that my suitcase is 10lbs. overweight and then looks at me expectantly. What am I supposed to do, open it right there and remove ten pounds of what, clothes? And then do what with these extra 10 pounds of clothing? “Ok…” “Well it’s $50 extra for overweight luggage” “Well, ok, I can’t take it home at this point.” (Yes, okay I was a bit snotty but I’d been in line for over an hour and still had to get through security. Besides that, it works for me, the bitchy thing) “You, know what” she says “I’m going to waive the fee because we are so far behind schedule". I thank her as she takes my suitcase, tags it and sends it on its way to San Diego. (see, for some reason bitchy works for me)
Next hurdle, security. I wore sandals because when they make you take off your shoes pre-security there is no place on the post-security side to sit and put on and tie your tennis shoes. However, my cute little sandals have metal decorative elements on the tops and they set off the metal detector. This flags me as trouble. Now I have to take of my shoes show the bottoms of my feet (do terrorists strap bombs to the soles of their feet? Can you conceal anything there? I can see checking shoes but the soles of my feet?) Anyway, then I have to unpack ‘precious’ and open it up to prove it’s a real laptop. By the time I reach the gate it is 8:49. The gate area is empty and the door leading to the gangway is closed. No, wait…um the plane is actually pulling away. The gate agent (BITCH) looks at me and asks for my name, I tell her and she says “Well, Ms. Walters, we paged you several times and you did not respond to the page.” Ok, let’s recap, I checked in and got a boarding pass, which told them I was there right? So it also tells them what time it was when I finally got to check in right? So what did she think I did, stop for a coffee, maybe a nap, “Well, you can’t hear the overhead pages very well in security, which is where I was, you knew I’d checked in!” “Well Ms. Walters we can put you on standby for the later flights today, but they are all full or over booked”. (Fist of death having trouble staying at my side) There were three other people standing there at the desk who also missed the flight. 3 witnesses are the only things that saved that bitches life. Our seats were given away to other stand-by fliers. I rescheduled the flight for the next day at 4:40 pm when J is flying out. We had originally been unable to get seats on the same flight, but now apparently, miraculously, they have seats…or are overbooking again…? Well at least my suitcase made the flight…yes that’s right, my checked bag is now on its merry way to San Diego without me. Let me rephrase, my checked bag with everything I own that is not currently on it's way to France, is now on its merry way to San Diego without me.
I called J, who was home by then, and asked her to come back and get me. America West, yes America West. Remember that name.
