Comedy of Delays
I had an interesting return from Portland, where I attended a wonderful retreat with Compassion friends.
On the return flight to Denver we ended up waiting on the runway for 30 minutes.
This caused me to miss my connection to Sheridan, which meant an overnight stay in Denver.
A young man from Sheridan was on the same flight from Portland, so we hung out together while waiting.
They arranged for motel rooms in a fancy Marriott — complete with meal vouchers and $100 off future flights!
The dessert menu at the Marriott included fried cheesecake (yes, I sampled it)!
In the morning, on the flight out of Denver, I noticed the diamond was missing from my wedding band.
Several people helped me search the plane for it, but to no avail.
Suddenly, the pilot announced we were diverting to Cheyenne because we’d lost cabin pressure.
We were given another meal voucher in Cheyenne, and waited several hours.
Cheyenne has this giant cowboy boot to welcome you to the terminal.
I phoned the Marriott and a super nice housekeeping supervisor looked for the diamond but did not find it — although she checked the room (which hadn’t been cleaned yet), the hallways, the elevator and the shuttle bus!
Some of us wandered about outside. I found this wonderful sculpture of a little cowboy interested in airplanes!
Finally, we taxied out to the runway, only to hear a “clunk” and have to return for a broken nose wheel!
Now it was starting to be funny. No one complained, whined or tried to hurry anyone. It was nice.
I found this strange deer on the wall — from 1934. I’ve never seen one quite like it before. I’m not fond of animal heads on the walls, especially if they look like this!
Finally we boarded our plane again and made it home safely. I said “farewell” to my new friend and started the half-hour drive home.
When I arrived, I checked my backpack carefully because all this time, I really believed the missing diamond would be in the bottom of it.
It wasn’t. The only gems were these two precious child packets. It does put my loss into proper perspective. These children have really huge needs. We can’t begin to comprehend what it’s like to be missing meals, education, housing, safety, health care and spiritual nourishment.
Would you like to sponsor one of these sweet children?
Leslie -- Born April 23, 2005 -- Guatemala
Nahimana -- Born September 3, 2004 -- Rwanda
Wow wow wow!
That is quite an interesting time!
Was your trip in Portland fun?
Yes Zach — it was great! Lots of good Advocate friends to see too! Say, are you coming to the conference in October?
Oh man…I’d take one of those precious gems over a diamond any day, but still…to lose your diamond!
What a trip home you had. My first flight out of Portland was delayed. I was sure I would miss my connection, but made it with 5 minutes to spare.
I suppose it’s still possible that I’ll run across that diamond somewhere along the way. I’m hoping it’s insured. It is a bummer — after 33 years of marriage!