Friday
Aug052005
miracle in Memphis
Friday, August 5, 2005 at 03:51PM
So I'm pretty sure that when I asked you to pray for my standby flight situation, a few of you did. I had an airport experience yesterday which has never happened to me before, and am quite sure will never happen to me again. Let me start at the beginning...
After a very interesting, Josh-played-bass, set at Estes Park, Cliff, Josh and I hopped in Cliff's rental car to drive two hours back to Denver, so that we could catch early morning flights. Well, being the three most directionally challenged people I know of, we obviously got very lost. On top of that, every hotel within a half an hour of the airport was booked solid. We ended up driving around for a few extra hours, then getting a room at a LaQuinta in a neighboring town. It was a fitting end to a pretty frustrating day (see my last post).
So I get up a few hours later, and get to the airport. The flight I was attempting to get on was going to be very late, so they put me, still standby, on a different flight, this one connecting through Memphis instead of Minneapolis. This flight was supposed to leave at 9:35. There was some weather in Denver, so all the flights kept getting pushed back and back. The 9:35 became the 10:00 became the 10:15, 10:30, 10:45, and finally the 11:00. This would put us in to Memphis at 2:00pm, they said.
The flight had finished boarding and they started calling the stand-by people, and thankfully, I was the last name called. I sat down and pretty immediately fell asleep. When I woke up I looked at my watch. It was 2:05. We were supposed to land at 2:00, and we were definitely still in the air. My connection flight to Nashville was supposed to leave at 2:30, so time was of the essence.
We finally landed at around 2:20, and I got off the plane at 2:26. Carrying a large bag and a bass guitar over my shoulder I took off at a gimp-footed sprint from gate C10 to gate B30. Holy cow. I am out of shape. I get to the gate, and see a closed door and no people anywhere. I look out the window to watch the jetway pull away from the plane, and the plane slowly rolling away. It's 2:31. Dang it.
Breathing way too heavily, I pulled out my phone to call Alison, to tell her I was going to have to rent a car or I would get home at 9, an hour after our dinner reservations for our Anniversary date. As I was walking down the hallway, a janitor with a radio came up and grabbed my arm. "What are you doing? Get over here!" he yelled at me.
I was confused.
He took me to a lady from the airline. "Where have you been?" she asked and opened the door to the jetway, barely looking at my standby slip. I walked down the jetway, and there was the plane, its door still closed. The lady had followed me down and began to knock on the door. A stewardess opened it and let me on the plane. "Just take any seat," she said.
I sat down and the plane immediately pulled away from the gate. I had been on the ground in Memphis now for seven whole minutes. So I get home in time to play with my daughter and take my wife out for dinner. My baggage even made if home. Remember, the plane had left the gate, and came back! I have never seen that before. It was like a movie. Thank you God for getting me on that plane, and thank you folks who prayed on my behalf, I am sure it was an answer.
Our date was great, and we are now packing up to visit my family in Normal. We're going to leave in the early evening, so hopefully Ella will sleep for most of the drive. This will be our first road-trip with her, so we're sure it will be interesting.
Thanks again for your prayers and well-wishes, and thanks to the folks who came up and said hello at Estes. Have a great weekend and I'll write more soon.
After a very interesting, Josh-played-bass, set at Estes Park, Cliff, Josh and I hopped in Cliff's rental car to drive two hours back to Denver, so that we could catch early morning flights. Well, being the three most directionally challenged people I know of, we obviously got very lost. On top of that, every hotel within a half an hour of the airport was booked solid. We ended up driving around for a few extra hours, then getting a room at a LaQuinta in a neighboring town. It was a fitting end to a pretty frustrating day (see my last post).
So I get up a few hours later, and get to the airport. The flight I was attempting to get on was going to be very late, so they put me, still standby, on a different flight, this one connecting through Memphis instead of Minneapolis. This flight was supposed to leave at 9:35. There was some weather in Denver, so all the flights kept getting pushed back and back. The 9:35 became the 10:00 became the 10:15, 10:30, 10:45, and finally the 11:00. This would put us in to Memphis at 2:00pm, they said.
The flight had finished boarding and they started calling the stand-by people, and thankfully, I was the last name called. I sat down and pretty immediately fell asleep. When I woke up I looked at my watch. It was 2:05. We were supposed to land at 2:00, and we were definitely still in the air. My connection flight to Nashville was supposed to leave at 2:30, so time was of the essence.
We finally landed at around 2:20, and I got off the plane at 2:26. Carrying a large bag and a bass guitar over my shoulder I took off at a gimp-footed sprint from gate C10 to gate B30. Holy cow. I am out of shape. I get to the gate, and see a closed door and no people anywhere. I look out the window to watch the jetway pull away from the plane, and the plane slowly rolling away. It's 2:31. Dang it.
Breathing way too heavily, I pulled out my phone to call Alison, to tell her I was going to have to rent a car or I would get home at 9, an hour after our dinner reservations for our Anniversary date. As I was walking down the hallway, a janitor with a radio came up and grabbed my arm. "What are you doing? Get over here!" he yelled at me.
I was confused.
He took me to a lady from the airline. "Where have you been?" she asked and opened the door to the jetway, barely looking at my standby slip. I walked down the jetway, and there was the plane, its door still closed. The lady had followed me down and began to knock on the door. A stewardess opened it and let me on the plane. "Just take any seat," she said.
I sat down and the plane immediately pulled away from the gate. I had been on the ground in Memphis now for seven whole minutes. So I get home in time to play with my daughter and take my wife out for dinner. My baggage even made if home. Remember, the plane had left the gate, and came back! I have never seen that before. It was like a movie. Thank you God for getting me on that plane, and thank you folks who prayed on my behalf, I am sure it was an answer.
Our date was great, and we are now packing up to visit my family in Normal. We're going to leave in the early evening, so hopefully Ella will sleep for most of the drive. This will be our first road-trip with her, so we're sure it will be interesting.
Thanks again for your prayers and well-wishes, and thanks to the folks who came up and said hello at Estes. Have a great weekend and I'll write more soon.
Reader Comments (5)
Praise the Lord. Thanks for coming out to Monterey. I liked the High School Band song. Keep it up.
wow great story andy, I know God answered those prayers. thanks again for the help getting "Diamonds in the Soles of Her Shoes" mp3
AO, I'm glad your connection in MEM worked out so well!
Most writers who fly these days are confronted with poor customer service, and that seems to migrate into their work. Being in the industry, I can never support poor working habits but I will enlighten that most agents are continually abused during their day’s work, so any positive stories are refreshing.
I'm sure that because of your striving to maintain a "Jesus posture" toward the workers you encounter each day (Apron Full of Stains,) the Lord found a situation to “make your day� with a surprise.
Keep striving, may He continue to surprise, & thanks for sharing,
~r
Yeah, and if you ever fly with Rick's employer, and they get you really fired up, just ask to see Rick and he'll make it all better. :-)
And if you're in the airport looking for him, he's the guy with the video camera attached to his hand.
Well, us Memphis people are nice that way!
Seriously, glad it worked out. And Happy belated Anniversary.