24 April 2006

Pirates stole my plane...


So there I was, tired in the gate are of Houston Hobby International Airport. A long weekend of Navy hoop jumping and coordinating OPS planning for SOUTHCOM. I am ready to go home.

But what is this? Delta flight 475 from Houston to Atlanta is cancelled? The Delta agent, a guy who I have a passing acquaintance with, informs me that they are short pilots. Odd, the 737 is sitting at the gate and looks ready.

Then something happens, a gaggle of TSA folks arrive and set up a screening area near the gate. There is a lot of radio chatter between agents and flight coordinators.

Then I see what happened. A line of over-moussed, blazer wearing baseball players comes waltzing through the area. They are pirates. Pittsburgh Pirates to be exact. They have stolen our plane. The Pirates had been playing the Astros in Houston and were now stealing our plane!

They lined up at security, their Louis Vutton haversacks slung over their shoulders and their designer sunglasses perched precariously on their spiky haired heads. About fifty folks for a 146 person aircraft.

My senior chief was bumped from the flight and delayed in returning home by several hours. There were families and a basketball team from Smyrna who were forced onto smaller regional jets one to two hours later than planned.

Seems to me that the Pirates should have chartered a jet or made arrangements with Delta for proper booking.

A clear example of the cult of celebrity which permeates our culture.

1 comment:

Citizen Deux said...

At least I would have known the words...