Apr. 2, 2007 - Planes, Trains, & Automobiles :)
About two years ago my oldest son went to Arizona to live and work with my brother for five months. My brother owns a business detailing cars. It came up that my brother was to work a car show this past weekend and he wanted my son to fly out for the weekend and join him on this venture. What seventeen year old boy would not want to go detail high end autos like Ferraris and Lambos?
My brother's wife set up his flight plans, my son requested today off of work, he packed up last Thursday, and my husband drove him to the airport Friday night. My son was supposed to get on a 9pm flight to Phoenix. The flight turned out to be overbooked, and as he was on standby, he was then scheduled for the next flight at 5am.
My biggest concern was that my night-owl child would have much difficulty making that 5am flight unless he stayed awake all night. Well, he did fall asleep and awoke to an empty terminal. He asked a clerk if it truly was the gate for the 5 o'clock flight, since there were no other people at the gate. He was told yes it was-the gate for the 5pm flight however. His gate for the 5am flight was changed and he didn't know it. By the time he got to the right gate, the plane was already boarded.
So twelve hours after my son arrived at the airport he was still waiting for a flight! At that point he had no money left for food even. (He had not wanted to bring his debit for fear he'd overspend while out of town) Luckily, my brother was able to send a friend of his, who works five minutes from the airport, to bring my son some money for food. My sister-n-law, who works booking for the airline, was then able to get him onto the next flight at 10am. He made it to Phoenix with just enough time for them to load up their materials, stop at Grandma's for a quick visit, and head off to the car show.
My son was quite grumpy each time I had talked to him while he was still at the airport and claiming he will never do standby again in his whole life! I was worried he might have been grumpy to everyone he had to come in contact with at the airport . I was glad to hear that one gate clerk that my brother had spoken to said my son was a very polite young man. Whew!
It was hard for me to be here and not have any control over my son's circumstances, but I knew also that it was just one of those learning experiences he must endure. At seventeen, and almost an adult, he needs to learn from his choices for sure. And I know that the next time he flies he will be sure to be much better prepared!
Comments
Apr. 13, 2007 - Wow!
Posted by AHappyHome
Blessings,
Keri
