Jet Blue in the Final Hour

The first of what may be many miracles was recorded today, before I even got on the plane. Even the Pope would likely consider this one verifiable.

With all the planning that has gone into this trip, and it has been going on for over a year, there have been a few things that I have left totally up to outside help. So in the mad scramble to get all the luggage to the proper weight, packing malarial pills, alcohol wipes, extra socks, etc., I didn’t give the itinerary a second thought. I printed it out, and my wife and I headed out the door, grateful that something as complex as getting a man and 200 lbs of art materials and tools ready to get through three major airports and onto another continent on the other side of the world was finally completed. Big mistake!

Our plan was to drop Barbara off with the check-in luggage so she could get that part going while I parked the car. Our big worry was whether or not we could get away with one and a half lbs excess weight in one of the bags and a half pound in the other.
Sometimes the airlines are sticklers.

So, when the ticket agent started looking at the computer screen with a questioning eye and asked her colleague for help, we began to wonder. Turns out, according to the computer, we were a day late for our flight. Our jaws dropped!  Our hearts sank!

“No, I have the right day," I pointed out the date on our itinerary. “Yes, but there is some mistake on your end,” was the response. "You need to talk to your agent…There is nothing we can do!”

"Well, get me on a plane to JFK…any  plane. I have to make a connection to Johannesburg. I am supposed to be at a conference tomorrow.”

“That’s the problem, all of your flights were booked for yesterday. We have no way of rescheduling tickets for South African Air. See if you can get your agent on the phone and figure something out. You have about a half hour."

Call, call, text text, email, messenger, facebook? Help! Emergency! Nothing. Twenty minutes go by. I’m just settling into the dark feeling that the Dark Continent is not going to happen…not today. Maybe never.

Then, here comes the miracle:  Michael Porter at Jet Blue comes over to us after a long stint at the computer and hands me a packet with boarding passes for the whole trip and smiles…”I found a way." Barbara breaks all security standards, jumps across the scale and gives him a hug. Not to be outdone, I jump over and do the same. Our baggage is expedited (no charge for the extra piece of luggage and forget about that excess two lbs), and I am on my way…goodbye Portland, hello yellow brick road.

 You decide, miracle or just business as usual.

Sitting in the airway station, got a ticket for my destination...horay!