Splashdown

The Acts collection – June 17th, 2023 (8-minute read)

For many years before broadband Internet made virtual visits possible, my work took me all over North America. I enjoyed the travel except for flying, which was always the worst part. Several years ago, I had just finished working in Georgia, trying to resolve a particularly challenging tech problem for a customer. The weather was bad, I was exhausted and my flight out of Atlanta was delayed. By the time I arrived in Pittsburgh my connecting flight home had just departed. As I stepped off the ramp into the terminal, they were paging me to the service desk. The agent told me if you run, I can get you on a flight home right now. So, off I ran.

When I arrived at the gate, I ran down the ramp and the flight attendant welcomed me aboard. I turned the corner to find my seat and stopped dead in my tracks. The plane was empty. I looked at the attendant and she said, “Just sit anywhere you like, we’re leaving now. And happy Halloween.” I had forgotten it was Halloween. Nothing had been happy ab…