December 23, 2010

LA Bound

Off to Louisiana! At the airport, I got frisked. They didn't do a very good job, either: as a "brig chaser" in the Corps, I learned how to search people, and the TSA guy didn't. Of course, the TSA is kind of in a bind, as a real search requires getting very intimate with the searched. I'm annoyed enough about the pointless "security theater" being perpetrated by the TSA, and I don't think a more professional search would have actually improved their effectiveness rate.

Waiting at the Buffalo airport, watching the lake-effect snow blow past the windows, I was not surprised when my flight was delayed. But it wasn't a weather problem– my aircraft had sprung a hydraulic-system leak. Believe me, I know all about those. With a good aircraft, we loaded up, taxied away from the terminal- and the head flight attendant announced that we had a weight-and-balance issue, and that five volunteers were needed to get up from the back of the plane and get an open seat at the front, so we could take off.

I had an isle seat three rows from the back, so I stood up. I ended up sitting next to a garrulous old guy who had been an Army medic in Korea and then a fireman (eventually a captain) in Buffalo. I prefer to spend my flights reading or in quiet contemplation, so once we were in the air I got permission to escape back to my original seat, with the excuse that my stuff was still back there.

My scheduled three-hour layover in Charlotte was now just fifteen minutes, and I needed all of them to hustle across the airport. It's a pity, because Charlotte's airport has a pretty decent sushi restaurant. At any rate, I got crammed into a turboprop for the hop down to Baton Rouge. My bad luck with seatmates continued, as my seat was occupied by a rather confused elderly lady. After some discussion, I and the other nearby passengers just shuffled around, as being easier than convincing her to move. She had a broken arm, and her cast was jamming me in the side for the whole flight. All in all, not the most entertaining trip I've been on.

But at the terminal was my sister, brother-in-law, and their two children, who were cheerful and happy to see me; I suspect they were not so pleasant during the wait for me to arrive, but hey– not my problem!

Once in Baton Rouge, after some initial skepticism, the children have decided that their uncle is an acceptable substitute for a grandparent. While Uncle does not supply candy or cookies, Uncle is substantially more durable than Baba or Gram and is willing to carry people around on command, wrestle, and serve as gymnastics equipment. But when little Zoe asked for her Uncle to change her diaper, said uncle stood on his principles and passed the child off to her parents.

Christmas is in just a few days, and enthusiasm is high. Zoe asks to open presents just about every day. Nick is somewhat more patient, except that his sister's enthusiasm is annoying. There are rules about when presents get opened, and Zoe just can't seem to understand them, which is very very frustrating.

Sadly, before I left, a professor "offered me the opportunity" to rewrite a paper over break, including recommending a book that "might be useful for me to read." So while the postman was delivering presents to be put under my sister's tree, he also brought me a some work to do. There is only one thing left to say…

Bah! Humbug!

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