Fly, swim, bike, run ... but first, wait
Share with others:
The staycation has been officially declared passé. We can tolerate only so much austerity; the first hour of a power outage is a fun adventure in candlelight and primitive pastimes, and then you can't open the fridge and "Dancing with the Stars" is on and the whole thing becomes a damned nuisance.
We flew down to Austin for the holiday weekend. It was going to be 90 degrees here, so we went where it would be 98 and even the breeze is like a hair dryer. And oh yeah, my beau, whom I will call Chris because that is his name, was signed up for his first triathlon, the CapTexTri.
He's been training all year, and fundraising too, as part of the Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Though I am as likely to train for a triathlon as I am to be voluntarily shot out of a cannon, my life changed too. I accept the presence of a bicycle in the dining room. I am no longer startled by a bathroom festooned with Spandex.
So we packed our carry-ons (we're not made of money) and flew out Saturday morning, bound for Austin by way of Dulles. Which is where we were sitting, belted in our seats and ready to push back from the gate, when the pilot announced that there would be a slight delay because something didn't look right in the cockpit.
The "check engine" light?
"One of the computers isn't working right," he said. "It's not showing us the correct information, and we need to get it adjusted so it is showing us the correct information."
"Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?" I wondered aloud.
"They have to reboot the plane," said Chris.
"So we've requested a visit from the professional tech maintenance crew here," the pilot continued, "and someone will be over in five or 10 minutes to hopefully get this straightened out so we can have a safe flight."
Shortly, a pickup truck pulled up to the front of the plane.
"Oh look!" said one of the women in front of us. "It's the Geek Squad!"
First Published June 2, 2011 12:00 am
