The short story is that I’m on vacation and flew from DFW airport to Mobile, AL. Only for some reason UScair couldn’t find a crew on Thanksgiving Evening to actually fly the plane from Charlotte to Mobile. So, after about an hour or so with the very nice customer service lady, we were given hotel vouchers and routing the next morning through Atlanta. Where we’d transfer to a Delta plane and be in Mobile only 14 hours later than we planned. Since our luggage was already checked through to Mobile, it couldn’t be retrieved. Sigh.

So, the nice people at the Double Tree gave us toiletries to get us through the night and we flew on to Atlanta and then Mobile. Where the Mrs. bag was, but my two had somehow not made it on the plane. Sigh.

Even though the luggage was being flown by US Air and we were flying on Delta, the luggage became the responsibility of Delta. Got that? Delta never saw or touched our luggage, but it was their job to get it from the airport to us. I’ll spare you the story of the serial lies I was told by Delta over the phone, including at 0600 this morning where the guy told me that the luggage office at Mobile didn’t open until 1000, but it the luggage would be given to the delivery company at 0900. Anyway, I called US Air, whose responsibility it was NOT to get my luggage to me, and the nice lady sayd that it’s sitting at the airport, but that Delta has to walk the 20 feet (small air port) over to the US Air counter and take possession of it.

What I did do was drive to the airport and pick the luggage up myself. I did that because there was no guarantee that the delivery company would actually get it to me before this afternoon. Which would make 48 hours from the last time I saw my bags.

Did I mention that I had properly checked and secured firearms in one of those bags?

Anyway, I did in fact drive out to the airport and the nice Delta lady found them in the luggage office that no one was supposed to have access to, but somehow she did.

So, I was reunited with my belongings and managed to put on clothes that wouldn’t make me look like the grand prize winner in a “People of Walmart” fashion contest.

I now believe that those are all pictures of people who lost their luggage while flying and had to dress out of Good Will donation bins until they could buy clothes at Walmart. Which is the only store open on Thanksgiving, by the way.

I an my luggage are now reunited. Which might be what this song is about, because I sure felt like singing that in the airport lobby.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/cYKVb7T1n2I[/youtube]

Next year, I think I’m going to drive. After all, I’m retired now and it’s not like I have to be anywhere at any particular time.