Getting Out of Dodge

It's a cold and rainy morning here in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Although, it's not as cold as it is at home.  It was 14 degrees when I left New York last night, and it was 39 when I landed in Charlotte just before midnight.  I wasn't supposed to be here until late tomorrow morning.

I've been keeping an eye on the approaching storm since late last week.  I told my friend Den to lay off the Viking Snow Dances.  Sunday evening I started watching the US Airways website for Travel Advisories. 

By yesterday morning, it was pretty clear that the storm was headed our way.  It didn't look like it would be bad until Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.  Still no Advisory from US Airways.  But since the weather forecast was for ice staring Tuesday night, I figured I'd probably end up flying out late Tuesday afternoon.  I decided I'd better get the laundry done.

Mom arrived just as started folding the laundry.  She dropped by to deliver my birthday present (a new brief case that she wanted to make sure I had for this trip) and take me down to our priest's Open Table at the local Dunkin' Donuts.  About a minute later, the alert from US Airways went up on their web site. 

The scramble began!

Mom went by herself to meet Lois as soon as it became obvious I wasn't going to be able to meet with them.  First I called the hotel reservations system to make sure they had a room available for the extra nights.  Then I went online to change my ticket.  I ended up having to call the airline because the online system screwed up my reservation.  In spite of the looming weather, I only had to wait five minutes on hold before a representative was available to sort out the problem.  I booked a seat on the last flight of the evening from LaGuardia to Charlotte.  With the new ticket in hand (or at least in email, how things have changed since the first time I flew in 1977), I called the hotel again and booked the room. 

Arranging transportation to the airport, however, proved to be complicated.  Because I had less than six hours before I needed to be at the airport, my usual shuttle service couldn't book me.  Nor could my back up service.  Nor the second back up.  Fortunately, Mom and Bill said they could get me there, if it came to that.

Packing was a frantic affair.  Usually, I have my packing list done days ahead of time, but I had planned on finalizing it yesterday and packing today.  Do you think I could find my list?  I made a new one as I packed because I like to keep one with me in case the airline misplaces my luggage.  Even when I pack carry on.  You never know when the airline will make you check your bag because they've run out of room on the plane.  A couple of things were still damp, but they would survive a short time in the suitcase before being hung up again once I got to the hotel.  If I forgot anything, Charlotte isn't the middle of nowhere.  I can run out and buy what I need. 

In the middle of this, our new deacon called.  Sally and I arranged the call on Sunday, so we could figure out why she was having trouble accessing the parish Outreach blog, which she is taking over.  She asked why I sounded rushed, and I explained the situation.  She offered to do the blog another time, but quite frankly, it was good to have something else to focus on besides worrying about the abruptly rescheduled trip.  We got everything taken care of in less than an hour, and I was done packing by 5:00.

Mom and Bill picked me up at 7:20, and I was through security by 8:30.  That gave me a chance to eat a light supper and send out a couple of emails.  I let my Education for Ministry group know that I was on my way to Charlotte early because of the impending weather.  Even though they can meet without me, their mentor, if necessary, I cancelled tonight's meeting because it was pretty clear that the storm wasn't going to miss us.  It's the third time this month we've had to cancel due to weather.

We boarded our plane on time, but we took off 30 minutes late.  First, they boarded some flight crew members going home to Charlotte.  They filled up the four empty seats.  We didn't pull away from the gate until 15 minutes after our departure time.  Then the inevitable taxi, wait, taxi, wait, taxi...

We arrived in Charlotte just before midnight, and I was in my room by 12:40 this morning.  It was the right decision.  And as long as I'm here, I'll be able to help the conference team with set up.

I can't remember a winter when we've had this many storms one right after the other.  Especially with this much snow and no thaw and melt in between.  Roads are getting narrower.  Sidewalks, even those people have cleared, are buried under plow-created snowbanks.  Parking lots are shrinking, which is the reason Lois' Open Table moved from the Starbucks on Westport Avenue to the Dunkin' Donuts on West Avenue.  Roofs are leaking, and some are in danger of collapsing.  Schools are running out of snow days. People are getting weary of snow.

Yet it IS winter.  The weather is not something we can control.  And neither can our municipal and state governments.  On the other hand, it seems many municipalities could have done a better job of planning.  A lot of us could have done a better job of planning, too.  And we all need to be flexible.  The ability to be flexible, after all, is what made it possible for me to get to Charlotte ahead of the storm!