Day Sixty-Five - 6.23.10 - Delays

On Wednesday, I began my trip to Elmira, New York to play in the Elmira Country Club Annual Invitational Tournament with my Uncle Mike. Due to inclement weather in Chicago and Detroit (where I was making my connection to Elmira), my first flight was delayed five hours. The flight was supposed to leave at 7 am, and we actually boarded on time, got to the runway, where we sat and sat, for an hour, waiting for clearance from Detroit to take off and secure a flight pattern. While we waited, storm clouds drew nearer and nearer... before clearance was secured, the storms hit Midway causing a ground stop. Taxi, jetway, deplane, terminal, gate, more waiting... As I sat in the gate, I heard all sorts of disgruntled travelers take their frustrations out on the hapless Delta employees. While I empathsized with the travelers, I felt sympathy for the workers. Despite the wishes of JoDean Willoughby from South Detroit, who was "just so pissed, my word," the Midway Airport Delta Airlines workers do not control the weather.

I commandeered an electrical outlet, powered my MacBook, and was able to watch, in its entirety, the thrilling World Cup Match between Algeria and the USA. I let out a yelp as Landon Dononvan's extra time goal found the back of the net, drawing crotchety looks from the elderly travelers also waiting on their delayed flights, and prompting assuring nods from other sports fans in the terminal who clearly also new what had just happened.

Eventually, I made it to Detroit at about 2 p.m. local time where I had a guaranteed seat on a 9:30 flight to Elmira. I got to the gate, and attempted my best to charm a Delta representative to the top of the standby list for a 3:20 flight. Electrical outlet, MacBook, ESPN3, Germany vs. Ghana... halftime... 3:20 flight boarding... passenger Grady to the Gate 22 kiosk... "Sir, we have a seat for you on this flight. It is in the emergency exit row, I sure hope that is OK with you." Indeed it was...

Straight from the airport to the first tee to meet Uncle Mike... We managed to play nine holes before hunger took over and the sunlight escaped the skies. I saw nine of the most difficult greens I have ever played in my 20 years fiddling with this ever frustrating and rewarding sport. It is going to be a challenging weekend...