Of Tarmac and Time Delays and Amazing Friends and Underwater Hockey

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	7.7	13-17	^
Platelets	31	140-375	^
ANC	750	1800-8300	^

As an addendum to my previous post, I offer the following: 

My loyal reader and dear friend DonaLynn is correct in stating that the saga of Las Vegas and the Hospital Escapee has had a very happy ending. I, myself, must admit to having made a few errors in the previous post, when I said, "Wouldn't you know, that evening the flight arrangements for Jill and Tara's return flight to Eugene collapsed because of, yep, ice storms predicted for Eugene." 

Here is the corrected information, per 1st daughter and travel agent, Tara: 

"Original flight to LV was set for 1/14 but we ended up flying to SD on 1/12. Then we were going to fly Alaska to Eugene 1/16 via LAX to Seattle, but the flights out of LAX were canceled till 1/18. We then rebooked on Southwest for 1/17 via San Jose, but that flight canceled late on 1/16. We rebooked on Alaska for 1/17 to PDX" 

On Wednesday morning at about 7:00am, they boarded the "Flight from H E Double Toothpick" en-route from Las Vegas to Portland International. Takeoff was delayed due to "storm-related personnel shortages" at PDX. 

Here's our (edited) text message banter

Jill Waugh:
    Still on the ground…don’t know why…
    No explanation …
    Pilot says we are delayed due to weather Pdx [Portland]
    So we wait
    Better not be cancelled

Tom Waugh:
    Arggh!

Jill Waugh:
    Right!  Just heard one woman say that she has been trying to get home since Monday
    Guy next to me was cancelled yesterday too.  Lives in Salem

Tom Waugh:
    Try not to get yourself too worked up until you know for sure what is going on.

Jill Waugh:
    Me??????  😉
    Tara booked our rental car for 7 hrs
    Pilot sounded a bit frustrated too.  He said that it’s a worker shortage at Pdx      and they want us to delay departure so as not to add to the congestion.

Tom & Jill Waugh:
    That sounds more manageable than weather delays.

Jill Waugh:
    I think it will be an all day travel situation for all of us today..,
    Well…technically still weather caused…
    My other seat partner needs to be in Salem by 1…

    Going!

Tom Waugh:
    Moving toward take-off?

Jill Waugh:
    We can’t land.  May be diverted to Redmond
    Just opened a runway for us!  [Probably] can’t drive tho
    Pilot seemed worried about fuel
    An all day experience for sure!
    Landing soon
    Might need to just drive to Dallas today and Eugene tomorrow [to fetch car         left there on Friday] …
    Or even Wilsonville?
    Did you connect with Bob [friend and savior who offered to drive me home         from hospital] again?
    Our plans for today may be delayed until tomorrow???

Tom Waugh:
    So glad they opened a runway for you. Bob is on his way, per DonaLynn at 10:37. She said he reported the roads were “not great but doable.” I wonder if you could take the train or Uber to Clackamas and ride home with me and Bob? I’ll contact DonaLynn. No reason we can’t get the car tomorrow, if Tara could drive us there.

Jill Waugh:
    A thought.  Tara says Uber will be [surge] pricing .  Cab???
    Don’t know what to do

Tom Waugh:
    ... The train can get you from the airport to Clackamas Town Center. Then Uber from there?

Jill Waugh:
    [Uber] Over charging
    Because of emergency

Tom Waugh:
    Remember that rainy day we saved for? I think it is here.

Jill Waugh:
    Tara Is checking Lyft now.
    We will Lyft to the hospital and ride home.  Is Bob bringing the car???
    Not the truck

Tom Waugh:
    I would assume he is. I think it probably works better in icy weather than the truck. IIRC, his truck has a back seat like ours does.

Jill Waugh:
    Ok then.  T is also checking train

Tom Waugh:
    Once we are home, I wonder if it is OK to have a couple of martinis the day you are released from the hospital??

Jill Waugh:
    Gates are full.  Have to wait
    Fine with me!  🍸🍸🍸
    We have gin and olives!
    They are deicing planes at every gate .  Guess we were lucky to even land

Tom Waugh:
    Yes you were. Thank God you didn’t have to go to Redmond.

Jill Waugh:
    That certainly would have been complicated

Tom Waugh:
    DonaLynn says there is enough room for all of us with Bob. She said once he gets here, he would be “happy” to pick you guys up at the airport. How much advantage do we want to take of the poor man?

Jill Waugh:
    We will figure things out
    So sweet!!!  What do you think????

Tom Waugh:
    I hadn’t considered that as a possibility, but [Bob's driving all of us home] sure would simplify things for our family.

Jill Waugh:
    We would owe him big time!!!
    Not just gas…

Tom Waugh:
    He keeps offering to help, and we have had little for him to do. I know he’d do it… would he ever speak to us again???

Jill Waugh:
    Yes…I’m sure he would.  Then [Tara] would drive us to Eugene tomorrow

Tom Waugh:
    That would be the straightforward solution. He left home at 10:35 or thereabouts. So I expect he won’t be here until noonish at the earliest.

Jill Waugh:
    A meal will be needed
    Thank you for figuring this out!
    I need to remember that your ANC isn’t to 1000 yet.  We are still quarantined and I will be masked at pdx
    I love you!!!

Tom Waugh:
    Good reminder
    I love you, too. Big time.

Jill Waugh:
    Oh gee…we have to (get to) spend time together!
    We still aren’t at a gate.  Pilot said tbd
    But at least we are at pdx

Tom Waugh:
    Bob just texted [at 11:35] he is here... Guess I was off on ETA.

Jill Waugh:
    Wow …we still don’t have a gate! And no update from pilot

Jill Waugh:
    [Tara] says now showing arriving at noon
    Yes

Tom Waugh:
    Well, that will work nicely since I need to get my discharge papers and load stuff in the car.

Jill Waugh:
    Still not moving and they are passing out water.  Think this will take a while..,
    Noon isn’t going to happen
    ...They don’t want us to leave our seats
    And now come pretzels
    They are trying…

Tom Waugh:
    Bob is here and will be happy to pick u up. Waiting on discharge papers. 

(I should mention here that Bob, who had witnessed three wrecks on his way to the hospital, including a semi lying on its side with its wares spilling out, and a Camaro that passed him and then did a 360º spin, had not been in on the conversation between me and his wife, DonaLynn, regarding his picking up the ladies at the airport. He briefly got a kind of deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face, when I mentioned it. He quickly recovered and agreed to the new plan. What a Mensch!)

Jill Waugh:
    Hope he continues to be happy…. 😬

Tom Waugh:
    Will let you know when we leave.

Jill Waugh:
    Thx.  I’ll give you an update.  Planes are lined up at the gates.
    They are moving the plane “up a little bit”.  Guess there is a long line…
    New ETA 12:40

Tom Waugh:
    Still waiting to be discharged

Jill Waugh:
     And we are still on the runway
    Another hour possible pilot says
    Tara just reminded me we could have flown out tomorrow.  At this rate it              might BE tomorrow. Are you sure you guys want to wait?  Pilot said we are     4th in line but only 1 plane has been able to depart.  He also said it could be         less time
   
Tom Waugh:
    Just exiting to airport way

Jill Waugh:
    I am so sorry!
    Still stuck!
    No word on eta. 
    Just want to get off this plane!!!

Tom & Jill Waugh:
    Amen. Will they not let u use restroom?

Jill Waugh:
    No I just did that…whew!
    Now they have given us biscotti
    Pilot just told us NO eta
    Hurry up and wait
    Are you 2 ok?
    Why can’t they bus us to the terminal

Tom Waugh:
    Bob and I were just discussing that.

Tom Waugh:
    We’re parked at 7/11. Bob got coffee and a couple of bags on nuts. I told him now I feel like part of the airline scene.

Jill Waugh:
    I may not have time to make the sumptuous repast I had planned for your welcome home dinner…
    And now they are bringing more water
    At least this will be memorable…

Tom Waugh:
    I have had about as much “memorable” as I can stand.

Jill Waugh:
    Agreed…
    Have a gate!

Tom Waugh:
    Hallelujah!

Jill Waugh:
    Using another airline’s gate…
    Pilot said he could see light at the end of this long tunnel..,

Tom Waugh:
    Any idea when you will deplane?

Jill Waugh:
    No.  We supposedly have access to the gate but aren’t moving
    All of us are antsy but good humored
    We are moving!
    Here!

Tom & Jill Waugh:
     At gate?
    Do you have checked luggage?

Jill Waugh:
    No
    Yes at gate
    Should we decide where to meet or wait til we get off?
    I don’t even know what airline this is

Tom Waugh:
    I’ll let Bob decide, since he is driving. Give me a couple minutes.

Jill Waugh:
    No prob… we aren’t off the plane yet
    It’s a slow process and we are toward the back

Tom Waugh:
    Of course you are! 🤪
    Bob says meet us on the upper level where passengers are dropped off, right     in the middle of that stretch.

Jill Waugh: [deplaned at 2:45pm, having boarded around 7:00am]
    Coming!

Tom Waugh:
    Let us know when you are there
    We are on the ramp. Are you close?

A moment later, I spotted Tara waving at us from just the spot Bob had specified. Soon, luggage and ladies were in the car, and we were off. What a drive Bob had ahead of him. Lots of road spray, especially from trucks trying to make up lost time. 

Somewhere along the line, Jill mentioned that we would owe Bob bigtime for rescuing us all from our various circumstances. I replied that I didn't know if there is a big enough bigtime to cover that. When I mentioned it to Bob, he replied, in his droll (as only Bob can be droll) manner. "I don't want you guys to pay me back. I want you forever in my debt!" Well, you got it, Bob! 

We arrived home to our icy driveway around 4:15pm. All safe and sound and happy to be here. 

Thursday morning, Tara drove us to the Eugene airport, where we found our faithful Ford in fine fettle. She fired right up (I had been a little concerned since she sat out in ice for six days), and we were on our way...after about 15 minutes of "geezers vs. technology" time, figuring out how to pay for the parking. 

At last we were on our way home...well, after I got us lost briefly. It was a gray and gloomy day, but driving conditions were satisfactory, and we made it. 

Friday morning bright and early, we were off to Kaiser for my now twice weekly blood draw. The Box Score above shows the results. We are grateful to the Lord for, in no particular order, improving blood counts, airline pilots, a friend who will risk life and limb to fetch us home, warming weather, a daughter who, after missing several unplanned days off work, was still willing to drive us to our car, home, life, joy and family togetherness. 

Remember that brief time I got us lost? That was also planned by the Lord, because my insistence in my last post about no two day hockey excursions unless they were in summer was vindicated. We found ourselves following a car with a bumper sticker that read: "Underwater Hockey." I rest my case.