Return Trip

Will try and put in an entry later today, but this will be a full day of traveling, so who knows.

My plane leaves LAX this afternoon at 12:40 PST. We stop in Chicago (MDW) before landing in Hartford. Helaine says the flight has been early the last two days. I’d like them to go three for three.

This has been a wonderful trip. I’ve done pretty much everything I set out to do… and then some. Nothing was a disappointment.

When I get home, I’ll go through the photos to pick out some ‘orphan’ shots that were cool, but didn’t fit in any blog entry.

The first time I ever told Helaine I missed her was back in our dating days. I was on-assignment in Germany doing PM Magazine stories. It was the early 80s. I called her from a pay phone in Frankfurt.

I miss her even more now… and now I’m totally sure why.

Significant Weather Night

It was a busy afternoon at work. The Storm Prediction Center issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch a little after 1:00 PM. They weren’t kidding.

As the afternoon progressed and the storms moved in, the watch turned into a series of warnings. At one point I decided it was futile to separate them and just told everyone to get inside and wait the weather out.

You know the old phrase, “It never rains, it pours?” That is so true with my work. The workload on a day like this increases exponentially. There’s so much information coming out, I don’t think viewers can absorb it all. So, you simplify a little in order to make points everyone will understand.

My friend Peter had it worse than me. He was scheduled to leave Philadelphia tonight, heading to France. In order to upgrade and get a larger seat, he was flying Philadelphia – Washington – Frankfurt – Nice. Ouch!

On his way to Philadelphia International he got a call telling him his flight to IAD was canceled!

He had hired a car to drive him to the airport which then turned south, heading to the Washington suburbs. I don’t want to think about how much this drive will cost – this is a very long trip. There’s not a chance United will absorb any of his cost.

We spoke a few minutes ago as he approached the terminal. He’ll make the flight, but this is going to be a very long night for him.

Meanwhile, here in Connecticut, the severe weather has moved on – thankfully.