No Place Like Home

The conference is over. My mind is reeling with a plethora of newly acquired information while still concerned to get home in one piece. A group of us stand in front of the hotel waiting our turn to board the bus to the airport. The wind whips our clothes like so many flags. The temperature has dropped so low I wonder if I should put on a few more shirts to stay warm. Where did the nice sunny weather disappear to?

On board the van, I sit back quietly, listening to my fellow passengers bemoan the bad weather that has cancelled all flights out of Chicago. I cannot thank the good Lord enough for making me decide to avoid Chicago and go through Detroit. Even if everything goes smoothly, I won't get home until midnight. But I guess I would rather be stranded in Detroit than Chicago with its uber teeming masses and scarcity of hotel rooms. I silently ask the good Lord to be with me and care for me whatever may arise. Gone are the thoughts that flights are not delayed in the summer (spring).

The flight to Detroit is on time and full. I am grateful for an aisle seat and a skinny rowmate. We take off smoothly, and the flight is uneventful. In Detroit, I have an hour to get from my landing gate to the boarding gate, and good thing because it was clear on the far side of the airport! I took all the moving walkways and it still took me almost twenty minutes to get there.

As I settled into my seat, the airline hostess announced that the flight was overbooked, and they were offering good money for someone to spend the night in a comp hotel room and fly out in the afternoon tomorrow. I just couldn't even consider such a thing despite my lack of deadlines. They announced it repeatedly, about every five minutes. No takers. A few people inquired, but didn't bite. I made myself think about how I could use the voucher to visit my grand daughters, but my body was saying "no way."

Right before we were to board, two people took them up on the offer, both young, both obviously students. Good. I am sure they can use the money. And I am more than happy to board when they call. The flight is full, but short. I have never been so happy to see the boys and tumble into the car and head home. Its true what Dorothy says. There really is no place like home.