Okay, so here's the deal...

I booked a trip to Florida to see my Dad. Leaving Sheveport is slim pickings, I gotta tell you. There are 2 morning flights, one at oh-dark-thirty, and the other at-half-past-sunrise. Since I am bumming a ride to the airport, I opt for the later of the stupidly early flights.

Waiting until a more human time of day might have sent me on a nine hour flight to some exotic city like Detroit, or given me a 6 hour layover in some cool place like Nowhere, USA. So I took the late early flight.

Delta flies through Atlanta, and that is usually the Burmuda Triangle of Layovers. My flight out to Melbourne is at 1 pm. So, not wanting to sit with my bag for 3 hours, I hesitated for a moment before I checked it through to Melbourne.

Surprise, surprise, surprise....we arrive in Atlanta only to be put in a holding pattern.....but somehow we were cleared to land earlier than scheduled. That's okay the pilot assured us, we would get to wait on the tarmac for a gate. And STILL we arrive early.

So, I trudge up the ramp with laptop, purse and puzzle book, look up and see a flight to Melbourne, not only on time but at the gate, preparing to board. It would get me in to my destination 2 hours earlier, and greatly reduce my boring layover here in Atlanta.

In my mind, I am in like Flynn. I can zip into town early, hitch-hike to Dad's (okay, that was when I was a hippie, I would call a cab in this millenium), and suprise the crap out of everyone!!!!!! Great idea, hu?

NO WAY JOSE BOSE! You must be on the plane that your luggage is on, why didn't you gate check your bag? So I wouldn't have to sit around and watch it for 3 long hours. But if you had gate checked your bag, you could get on this flight. I don't care when my bag gets there, I can drive up and get I can buy new clothes and pick it up on my way out of town for all I care, I just want on the earlier flight. But federal law states that you must be on the plane with your luggage. I don't give a crap about my luggage, 2 extra hours with my dad is more important. If the weather was bad you could do it. Is cold bad? No. Is cold when you are from the south bad? Look, I am wearing my winter coat (Kentucky sweatshirt), this is really bad weather for me. Nope! Is there am equipment problem that could put me on this flight? Sorry, all the planes seem to be in the best shape ever for this holiday season.

Live and Learn, and journal when it happens. Off to watch crap tv for a couple of hours.