November 25, 2005
... for using the words "airplane" and "shot down" in the same paragraph.
First off, from the "no shit" department: Flying at Thanksgiving sucks. Everything's delayed, and Northwest decided the optimal route from Dulles to Akron/Canton was through Detroit. My original departure time was supposed to be 4:22 PM, and I actually landed in Akron at about 9:50. Factor in the time spent in line, and the whole process took about six hours -- which is how long it would have taken me to just drive.
But that wasn't the problem with the flight, really. The problem was the Surly Bitch From the TSA, who decided to make up for her boring job by going on a power trip. Not that I didn't enjoy waiting five minutes for a bag-check and going through the metal detector twice, mind you. That was the high point of my day, it was.
Good thing for me the beer at the terminal was cheap.
Anyway, once I got a few Budweisers in me things were more enjoyable. The cute girl in the seat next to me on the airplane asked about my t-shirt -- being the fashion maven that I am I was sporting "WWJD For a Klondike Bar?" -- and we had a nice conversation about it and other things. She lives in roughly the same part of NoVA as I do, so I asked for her number... and got shot down. Y'see, she's a believer and I am most definitely not, and that's a problem for her. It was worth a try at least.
Maybe next time I'll wear my "555: A Lesser Evil" shirt instead.
