My passage to India

Departure day, Wednesday March 25
So, if its Wednesday at 11:30 p.m., I should be on a big, big plane, with wings and everything, somewhere over maybe England or something, heading for New Delhi, trying to sleep in an uncomfortable seat. Instead, I am at the Crown Plaza Newark Liberty Airport Hotel on a very comfy king-sized bed having a nice glass of wine. Instead of a three-hour layover in Newark, I have a luxurious 24 hours.
Long story short: 3:20 flight to Newark from Pittsburgh delayed, then cancelled because of maintenance issue. Everyone lines up to rebook and the line moves at quite a leisurely pace. The 6:20 for Newark leaves with me watching longingly from my place in line, my calls to Continental and Expedia to rebook while in line having been a total waste of time.
At 6:30 or so, a miracle. The maintenance issue has been resolved. Everyone still hanging around from the 3:20 flight gets on and we taxi away at 7. Then we stop.The pilot announces spacing issues at Newark. Boo hoo. We have to wait until 7:45. To take off. For my flight to New Delhi. Which leaves at 8:40. It’s an hour flight from Pittsburgh to Newark. The math doesn’t look too good.
And sure enough, the one flight I needed to be late was right on time. For my trouble I get a voucher for a comfy king bed in a hotel from a cheerful Continental customer service representative ("We'll go tomorrow!"). Oh, and my choice of aisle or window seat. She didn't burst out laughing when I asked for a free upgrade to first class for my trouble, so I figured she must get that a lot. Worth a shot.
In a day full of wasted time, I’m won’t squander any more on anger, but I’m sure hoping that the only way to go from here is up. And I mean that literally and figuratively.
The picture is of the unused USA3000 gates at the end of concourse C at Pittsburgh International Airport. When the flight delay was announced, I got up and walked three concourses, A,B and C. Not a bad idea, really. There's a good plug-in station for laptops in Concourse B and this empty place at C is great if you have a long layover and want to spend your time in a quiet place. My gate, D77, was by the end of a moving walk. After today, I've decided that one version of hell would be where the only thing you hear all day long is "Caution, moving walk is nearing its end."
Oh, a good thing. A nice woman I spoke to while languishing in line was waiting, too, after we got off in Newark to pick up our gate-checked bags. She asked me if I was going to make my flight. Me: No, no chance. She: I can get you an employee rate at a hotel I used to manage. Me: How sweet, thank you so much! Quick phone call and its done, though I cancel shortly thereafter since Continental has the voucher thing right and will put me up for "free." (Funny coincidence, same hotel chain, Crowne Plaza). But what a really lovely random act of kindness.