That said, my flight to Jacksonville last Thursday left me more than slightly unnerved.
The Today Show was droning away on my bedroom TV as I completed packing my carry-on suitcase when I was stopped in my tracks with a news flash: "American Airlines just announced that Concourse D at Miami International Airport is being evacuated and ordered closed due to a suspicious package. Security is investigating a possible bomb threat. All traffic into the airport is being diverted. "
This bit of charming information was accompanied on the screen by a picture of bumper to bumper traffic and a warning to expect major delays. Coming three days after the Boston Marathon bombing, I would be lying if I didn't admit to a stab of fear followed by the realization that there was a good chance I wasn't making it to Jacksonville in the near future.
My negativity was with good reason because American Eagle flies out of Concourse D and my freshly printed boarding pass that Thursday morning read Gate D-27, boarding at 10:40am. The clock on my dressing table read 7:45am.
What to do. What to do. Leave for the airport immediately and at least be in line when something opens up, or stay safely at home and wait to hear the next announcement on the TV. Calls to American Airlines were of no avail. When I finally got a human being on the line, she was located somewhere in the mid-West and had no idea what I was talking about. " Bomb threat? What bomb threat? Let me put you on hold for a few minutes while I transfer you to my manager." I hung up.
After a few frantic calls to Benard, I made an executive decision. I was too nervous by this time to sit around the house. Despite the fact that I was 3 hours and 20 minutes early for my 11:20 flight, we would leave for the airport at 8:00 and hope for the best. Not a great way to leave on a much anticipated, long planned trip to help celebrate my great-grandson's second birthday.
Our luck held. The suspicious bag turned out to be a false alarm and the airport's Departure ramp re-opened at the exact moment we arrived on the scene. Benard stopped the car, I jumped out, grabbed my bag, and walked the rest of the way to the entrance. The security line was horrendous due to all the people who had been standing around waiting for Concourse D to reopen, but reopen it did, and no one was complaining.
Once at the gate, it took an Extra Tall Latte from Starbucks to bring my nerves back to near normal. The plane actually left on time, with me on it, breathing a deep sigh of relief. Phew! That was a close one.
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Photo caption: My rumpled Boarding Pass, clutched in my nervious hand..
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