It was Tuesday morning and a nice winter day on the family farm in Batavia, New York. We had just watched seven deer wander from the corn field, go across our lawn beside the house and on into the woods across the street. It was a still morning after a light snow during the night. The sky was overcast, but we sensed no concern about our travel back to Texas in a short while.
We had a nice breakfast, got our things packed up and I spent a few minutes with my brother helping him with a new piece of software. We had worked on it the day before and he had a few more questions. I really enjoyed my time with him.
It was time to go and we left for the Rochester airport. Denny, my brother in law, drove us to the airport. Thanks again for the great taxi service to and from the airport. We arrived at the airport, unloaded our things, went through security and off to our gate. We checked our flight and everything was ok. We sat down for our short wait and soon realized there was a potential problem. Another airline across the aisle from us was also headed to Chicago and should have arrived there by now, but they were still waiting for clearance to board the plane. In a short while it was announced that their flight was cancelled and so they started to rebook on other flights. Soon we learned that our flight was uncertain and after a while they were rebooking people to cities south of Chicago.
During the initial rebooking process Chicago O'Hair was closed due to snow, but after a short while it reopened, but flights were slow due to a backup. My carrier gave me a choice. I could fly to Atlanta that afternoon and then to Dallas during the night or keep my current tickets. They decided to put my tickets on hold and book the flight through Atlanta. That gave us two options. After awhile they started boarding and I had to make a decision. Connie and I had decided to go to Atlanta, but at the last minute I learned that conditions were improving at Chicago. My carrier felt I might miss our connection in Chicago so they booked me on the next flight, just in case and gave me tickets for both flights.
Connie and I were the last two on the plane. The plane was pushed out and we taxied out to the runway. Instead of taking off we pulled over to the side and parked; not a good sign. The captain came on and told us we couldn't get clearance into Chicago. He shut the engines down and we sat for awhile and prayed for clearance. The engines started up and we took off. That wait caused us to miss our flight in Chicago, but I had those extra tickets. We went to the gate for that flight and confirmed them and waited for a short while and we were on our way. The plane from Rochester to Chicago only had 20 people left on it. The plane from Chicago to DFW had every seat occupied.
Once out of Chicago we were fine. We arrived at DFW, took the bus to our car and drove home, stopping for a very late dinner on the way. At least we got home sooner than if we had flown through Atlanta and I was able to remain faithful to my carrier; American. I can't remember when I haven't flown American. I fly enough to maintain gold status, which provides me, and those who fly with me, some nice benefits. I could not ask for better service than I received today. Thanks American. You did a good job.
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