1) Thank goodness for Ipods. Since I couldn't get to church, I listened to an Ortberg sermon on Saturday night. So the next morning, Dad and I played some Rummikub, then watched ROH Take No Prisoners. The Austin Aries/Nakajima vs. Tyler Black/KENTA match was remarkable. I also like this Alex Kozlov, who had a really good match with Roderick Strong.
2) We took the train into the city for Ben and Jack's. Now in Penn Station, which is right below Madison Square Garden, there are not many TV's or places to stay informed about whatever was going on. There was, however, an overpriced Houlihan's that we visited a lot. Well, now it's closed. And replacing it? Friday's. And they already have a Friday's on the other side of the station. Embarrassing. Instead, we went into Tracks, a clam bar for a drink. Saw the Mets give up a few runs too.
3) We walked into the restaurant and the waiter was quickly annoyed when we refused the wine list and Dad explained he could not eat any butter. Already on the table was their steak sauce, which is lighter than an A1. It is a brighter red, and does not have as bold a flavor. It's closer in flavor to a spicy cocktail sauce. We started with the jumbo crabmeat cocktail and one slice each of sizzling Canadian bacon. This is very large, thick bacon that we went a little too heavy on last time. The crab was so fresh and the bacon flavor was incredibly bright, especially dipped in the sauce. After some more waiting, which Dad was not at all keen on, they brought out a small plate they turned upside down. Then came two large hot dinner plates that had just come out of the oven. Then the T-bone steak for two, German potatoes/onions, and sauteed spinach with roasted garlic. They rested the steak plate on the small plate on an angle, allowing the steak juice to collect at the bottom. Thankfully, I had a side of drawn butter and the steak sauce to go with it. Wow. Just wow. But by the end, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable. And I had made sure to skip breakfast that morning as well. But, I still had some cheesecake with homemade schlag, or German whipped cream. Awesome. And Dad had his macadamia nut ice cream from Haagen Dasz. He did not know they still made that flavor. Did what I could to calm him down.
4) The 20 or so minute walk back to Penn Station was needed. And I saw a ton of Mets fans in there and they all wore the same sullen, blank expression on their face that I and so many others had worn the day before. Another loss. Back home we went. More Rummikub and Boomer and Carton clips. As big a douche as Carton can be, hearing him impersonate Suzyn Waldman and Chris Russo is outstanding.
5) For Monday, I planned to take the 10:30 flight from Newark, the second of five flights from Newark to O'Hare. There was no line to check in or at security so I went through the terminal feeling pretty relaxed. Then I saw how full the seating area was and I knew something was wrong. Apparently, the 6:30 am flight never took off. They put everyone on the plane, discovered an A/C problem, and took everyone off. So all those people were now on the 10:30 flight. And for the standby passengers like me, well, unless that plane could get fixed, we were screwed. As expected, I missed the next flight. As the plane was being fixed, the third flight to Chicago as boarding as well. But I could not get on that one, since I was on the list for the first flight. I got on. We boarded, and the pilot backed away from the jetway and headed toward the runway.
6) Then we stopped. After ten minutes, he comes on and says the problem still was not fixed. We headed back to the gate and got off. We started to re-book and the news tricked through the line of 150 or so people (I was at the end) that the fight was cancelled. So now there are four flights. And the 3:30 was filled up quickly with confirmed passengers who had to re-book. So it's 2:30 and I knew I had one more flight left from Newark. If that's not enough, my cell phone quit working. Dad had changed his phone and had a new charger and I could no longer use his. After consulting with a gate agent I knew, we discovered I might have a better chance in LaGuardia. There were hourly flights, but early in the day, they all looked full. But that was the only way I was getting out of New York that day. After five hours and four failed flights, I decided to leave Newark.
7) I ran through the terminal and then downstairs to ground transportation. Rodney, the very slick , slow-moving dude behind the counter, arranged me to take a shuttle to LGA for $32. He advised me to get a cab to get there quicker, but that would have cost close to $100. We confirmed it at 2:45 and the shuttle was supposed to arrive at 3:30. Now I had been told that these shuttles left every 30 minutes and cost $22. But I was in no mood to argue, just to travel. I really had little confidence that they would arrive promptly. But the guy did ok, he arrived at 3:40 and took me to his van. My flight I wanted was at 5 p.m. with the next one leaving at 6:15. We sat in the van for five minutes while he ate Chinese food. I wanted to tell him to haul ass, but he explained he wanted to wait for any more possible passengers. Five minutes later, nobody else had showed. We left for NYC.
8) The Holland Tunnel was clear, and then he drove up Canal St and through Chinatown, which is on the West Side of Manhattan. This is during rush hour. Simply put, the traffic picked up. Took the Manhattan Bridge to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway which moved around 10 MPH. I actually fell asleep in the van. We wound up arriving right at 5 p.m. I knew I was not making the flight I wanted and I could only get the 6:15. First I stopped at Famiglia to get some pizza because I hadn't eaten all day. Told the guy about my day and he actually gave me a discount. I don't know how big it was, but he said he had given me one. I just took him at his word.
9) Got to the gate around 5:45 and took a look at the standby list. My mouth dropped. The list was 65 people long. And since it uses abbreviated names, I didn't know if I was number 21 or 40! Eventually, I was called and got a seat in the last row. Took eight hours, and a different airport, but I got out. I wound up sitting right next to a pair of Mets fans who were on their way to Iowa. And I had a Mets hat on and before we took off, the flight attendant (female, around 50, definitely from the northeast) asked me who my favorite Yankee was. Wasn't sure the best way to answer that question, but I asked her if she knew I was wearing a Mets hat. She didn't have a clue. That's fair, but nevertheless, I answered Matt Nokes. I actually got that blue hat at the game, as it was the promotion item. Of course, I didn't expect to walk out with three of them. Funny thing is on the plane, I read an article in American Way on Billy Mays, the outgoing salesman. It was about his history, his place in pop culture, and his plans for the future. How could I know he would be dead just six days later?
10) Got in to O'Hare around 8:30 p.m. My bag was already gone, so I claimed it at lost luggage. I started to take it, so I lifted it onto my right shoulder. The little girl working there asked me to stop. She removed two tags, or she struggled to remove two tags off the bag, while I was still holding it. Not very enjoyable. Waited 45 minutes outside in heat (I was amazed when I walked outside that it was actually warm) for Mom to arrive and we headed home, which took another 45 or so. Quick stop at St. Charles Place for a half-price burger. I had one with sauteed mushrooms, cognac sauce, and Caesar salad (no joke) served on French bread along with about four iced teas. So I guess I got home around 10:30. I knew I would have to wake up for work in less than eight hours.
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