a sign or a free mojito

Perhaps it was divine intervention, perhaps it was a test in determination.

At 5:30 this morninga sideways turd "breached security" at La Guardia Airport.  The airport reacted the way they are supposed to in this day and age and shut down my airline's terminal. But of course, it took until the whole flight had boarded and buckled up for the news to reach the pilot at 7:50 or so, when he got on the intercom and informed us that the flight was cancelled. Get off the plane. That's it.

I sat in my seat thinking, "does this mean I should have taken the job at MAST?" 

The airline reps ushered a bunch of frustrated passengers (many of whom had overseas or cruise connections in New York) to the service desk (conveniently located next to the bar).

I struck up a conversation with a nice couple in line behind me. The gentlemen hypothesized that it was actually his own karma which had cancelled our flight--apparently he has the worst luck flying, last week his flight was delayed three hours. We shared a few chuckles and thought of different ways our airline could make up for the inconvenience. I said, at least a free drink in the Admiral's Lounge. He thought perhaps since there were only two agents behind the service desk, the airline could spare another agent to pass a tray of complimentary Mojitos through the long line. Either way, plying customers with a refreshing beverage would certainly make for a pleasant consumer experience. Take note, Apple.

La Guardia reopened the terminal not too long ago, and with that news, the airline managed to throw together a later flight. So I will be able to fly into New York (several hours later than I planned, but none the worse for wear), and I guess the terrorists have not won after all.

In the mean time, Miami International has been lobbying for the installation of slot machines to raise county(or is it city?) revenue. Local law prohibits slot machines unless they are located at a horse or dog track. Dave Barry has his own opinion on that. 

I'm still wondering if it was a sign from God, but for now I'll take the event as pure coincidence, or at least the nice gentleman's terrible record in commercial flight. That's enough of a gamble for me.