119. It’s All Small Stuff

Sometimes, a bad travel day can put you in an ugly mood. But one of our listeners, Judie Grace, shares how getting yanked around by an airline is still a privilege. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

Judie Grace: I can be pretty literal about things so when we started repeating the mantra “It’s going to be OK” I knew our journey had to be shared.  It all began in February when we realized that James Taylor, age 75, might not be touring for much longer. Bill and I have been fans for 50 years.  Linda, Bill’s wife has liked his music and was convinced that a trip to Las Vegas for the next concert was a great idea.  Concert tickets, Mad Apple Cirque du Soleil tickets and plane tickets were purchased and hotel reservations were made.  If everything went well, we would arrive in LV, check in at the MGM Park, have a meal, and get to the 9:30 show of Mad Apple with time to spare.  

Upon flight check-in the day before departure we were assigned to a gate in Terminal B at the DFW airport.  We, however, planned to begin our journey with lunch at the Centurion Lounge in Terminal D.  It is important to note here that any movement between terminals at DFW involves a tram ride.  This includes walking to the tram location, waiting for the next tram and travelling one or more stops to the intended terminal gate area. Thank goodness we are seasoned travellers with only carry on bags.  I don’t think any checked bags would have made the trip as well as we did.

On the day of departure, we received notification that our gate had changed to C-27, then to C-29.  No problem.  That will be OK.  On arrival at the gate, we were notified that the flight would be delayed until 5:36 pm, a 30 minute delay, probably due to some Texas weather.  Linda, the queen of the airline app, kept an eye on the flight that was supposed to arrive to gather us up to LV.  It was coming from Austin, about a 30 minute flight away.  Spoiler alert: it never left the gate in Austin. Spoiler alert #2:  That original flight did not make it to LV until after 11. Instead, we were going to be picked up by a flight emanating from Salt Lake City.  Still, we had not yet uttered “it’s going to be OK.” Airline delays in Dallas due to weather are inevitable and we are not easily ruffled. And then the fun began.

Instead of leaving at 5:36, we were notified at 5:36 that our departure would be at 7:26. With the 2 hour time difference in LV we would still arrive with 2 hours left to get to the Cirque show.  While we might have to compromise a relaxing meal for a quick one, we said “It’s going to be OK.”  After much discussion, Linda and I convinced Bill that he should look on the app for an earlier flight.  Mr. Platinum with the airline did just that.  We were booked on a slightly earlier flight at 7:16 Leaving from Terminal B.  We are encouraged that this flight will give us a time cushion, however small. The trek began: walk to the tram, ride the tram for a couple of stops, get to terminal B, walk to gate B 12. 

Around 6 pm the airline decided that we would now leave from Terminal A gate 36.  We repeat the trek via tram to Terminal A and locate our gate.  By now we are hungry and set out to look for a yummy dinner spot.  Terminal A is apparently the worst terminal at DFW for dinner.  We settled on a spot at the far end of the terminal.  It was quite a schlepp but we didn’t mind.   As we headed back to our gate, yet another change!  We are redirected to gate A-15 with a new departure time of 7:54. Off we go yet again to another gate.  

By now, doubt about our timely arrival is setting in.  Would we have to wait long for an Uber?  Will there be traffic?  Should we try to make it our hotel and then run (literally) to the concert venue? Should we try to leave our bags at the concert venue hotel?  Will we even get there in time to see the Mad Apple Cirque du Soleil show?  Deep breath.  “It’s going to be OK.”  At his point, in order to make it OK we took our future into our own hands.  Bill called the box office and cancelled our tickets to the 9:30 show. We were disappointed but we are mature grown-ups.  There were no tears or stomping of feet.  Bill was able to get a refund of most of the cost and we said “it’s going to be OK.”  We also said “maybe, just maybe if the plane leaves on time, the pilot gets us in a few minutes early and the planets align, we could still get to the show.” Now, we are no longer youngsters but we are game to make it work if we can. Fast walking will be involved. It really might be OK.

Our flight took off at 8:04. With the time change we landed a little after 8:15. Of course taxiing, getting off the plane, taking the tram to the main terminal, and ordering up the Uber all took us until close to 9pm.  With 30 minutes until showtime we decided to go for it.  “It’s going to be OK.”  What’s the worst that could happen? We had already dealt with our disappointment like the adults that we are. The Uber driver got us to the venue hotel at 9:11, the bellman at the Uber drop off was knowledgeable and fast.  He took our bags, gave us a claim check ticket and directed us to the box office where Bill repurchased 3 tickets for us.  4th row, butts in seats at 9:21, we really were going to be OK. The show was the funny we needed after a somewhat disturbing travel day!

After being in Terminals A,B,C,and D, multiple gate changes and an almost 4 hour delay, we got to see Mad Apple on their final night before a hiatus.  None of this affected the reason why we made the trip which was the James Taylor concert on the following evening.  Having the resources to hop on a plane to Vegas for a couple of days to see a favorite performer is definitely a privilege.  Having bumps in the road along the way is a first world problem for sure. Richard Carlson tells us – “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (and it’s all small stuff),” and when we do that, “It’s all going to be OK.”