I was just a year and a half removed from the USAF and wanted to see all my Buds after they returned from Desert Storm and before they closed our base in Arkansas. I had to fly to Memphis. My connection was in Atlanta (SHOCKER) My connecting flight was a plane coming from Orlando. If on schedule, BRILLIANT Delta Airlines gave us 15 minutes to get from our arriving gate and down the terminal by 8-9 gates. OOOOOF COURSE, our flight was delayed because of lightning by 5 minutes. We landed right on the flight time to Atlanta. BUUUUUUUUUT we stopped short of the gate for 2-3 minutes. About THIRTY of us were in a dead sprint to get to the connecting gate. AS we got in view of it, the guy closed the door. Thirty seconds later the plane pulls away. Those A$$HOLES refused to hold up for 5 more minutes to load thirty people. But it was an "ON TIME" departure! What REALLY set me off was the plane pulled from the gate and sat there about 3-5 minutes before taxiing. At the Memphis Airport, EIGHT of my Buds made the 60 mile drive to pick me up in two cars. Delta spent who knows how much $$$$ to shack us up in Atlanta till morning.
What REEEEEEEEEEEEALLY pissed me off was when I used the Gate phone to call the Memphis gate to let everyone know my status and the @#$%& at the counter tells me....Keep it brief. It's long distance. I replied..... KISS MY A$$! Four of the eight had to work the next day and I could not see them. Two I would never see again. 32 years later, that STILL pisses me off!
