For those of you who know me well, you most likely don't have to guess where I am at. But I thought it would be fun to use my iPhone to take some photos of my surroundings for the next 3 hours (and past 3 hours) as I wait for my flight that has been delayed for 2 hours and 52 minutes. What this actually means it is time to post some really bad photography. Above the text of this post you will find a sign identifying the gates in the concourse where I am spending my evening.
To the right of this paragraph you will find a highly doctored photo I took from my seat facing concourse B. Because I didn't <cough> couldnt <cough> adjust the exposure or white balance in the camera, this is post-processed so extensively that it looks more like a Van Gogh than a photograph. Okay, so maybe it isn't Starry Night but it could be Cloudy Skies Over Denver International Airport (for those of you who aren't Van Gogh fans, he also has a piece called Starry Night Over the Rhone in my lame attempt to analog my photo with a Van Gogh painting).
Okay, I may have just given away the answer to our little guessing game, but let's be honest, I'm sure most of you could care less what airport I call my second home. I have to admit that I think I have spent more time at the Denver Airport than I have at the Champps headquarters at Park Meadows. But this is my first really long delay on Frontier and this was caused entirely by weather. My problems with United (a running total of 17 of 22 flights more than 1 hour delayed) were caused more often by mechanical issues or just plain incompetence in United's route schedule than it was by weather. Maybe that's the underlying cause of their pitiful financial performance and the underlying reason for them having to ground 70 flights for good and axe 1100 jobs. The cost of Jet A probably has something to do with that as well. That's an aside that probably better belong's on this site's sister blog at SippingScotch.com. I digress.
The clouds finally seem to be lifting and so I am hoping that this won't be a situation where the delays keep getting worse. Speaking of worse, I can't believe how incompetent some travelers are. It seems they are getting worse. Now, I fly multiple times every month, so I am a seasoned traveler. But up until last year, I didn't travel very often at all. That said, when I did fly, I always checked the TSA's website to see what the latest security rules were. I didn't ever show up with 6 cans of aerosol in my carry-on and 3 1-Gallon bags that I put big bottles of liquid in. I saw a lady do that just about 6 months ago. My latest experience today beats even that -- now keep in mind, this is the "Experienced Traveler" lane at the security checkpoint:
This elderly lady is taking her sweet time unpacking her luggage almost completely. She is quite literally putting every single thing in her carry on in a bucket at the security checkpoint. I mentioned to her that only electronics needed to be taken out of her carry-on and she told me thanks but continued to unpack. She gets over to the metal detector and first, someone brings a wheelchair through (completely unrelated) and the screener spends about 5 minutes inspecting the wheelchair. This was an airport-labeled wheelchair being brought through by airport personnel -- is that really necessary?!?
Okay, back to the incompetent. I notice she is wearing tons of gold and silver jewelry and wonder if she is going to take it off. No. She proceeds through and I think she is going to make it. Then after she fully passes through it goes off. I actually think her left arm was swinging through and her 15 metal bracelets set it off. The security person asks if she has any metal on her. At this point I am completely dumbfounded because she is practically a T-1000 (ask a Schwarzenegger fan if you don't know what that is). I think she is going to remove her jewelry, but no, instead she replies, "well I do have a titanium hip." I almost completely lose it and then proceed to tell the TSA agent that we have 6 people whose luggage has already gone through the X-Ray. I ask if we can go first and unbelievably, she says YES!
So there is my story of the stupid for this solar day. One more thing related to this airport fiasco. I notice these signs for "Clear. Registered Traveler" throughout the airport and wonder what that is. Visit flyclear.com if you want to know what this program it is, but to me it sounds like bunk. They have people who "help you with the bins at the security checkpoint." I am sorry, but if I am going to pay $100 per year, I want more than people helping me unload my luggage -- I want expedited service. Clear -- if you want my business you need to offer more!
My rants are done for the day.
