Nudie Journalling (Part Two)

7:00 p.m. Gate attendant now makes the cheerful announcement that our flight is showing a ten hour delay. The assembled passengers start asking questions. How about a flight to Vegas? OK. (I will later learn that flights to Vegas are easy to come by, but flights from Vegas to LAX are not available until Tuesday.) I'm in no real hurry. I ask about flights tomorrow morning. Yes, there's a 7:45 flight. You can change your ticket for it at the ticket counter or by phone. Won't be able to get your bag back though -- that's ready for this plane and will just somehow get to LA (one can but hope) tomorrow. But they'll give you an overnight kit at the ticket counter.

7:00 -7:10 p.m. I run like hell back to the ticket counter while simultaneously calling the airline on my cell phone. I get to the counter first.

7:15 p.m. The 7:45 a.m. flight is booked. As is the 10, the noon, the 2:55, the 5:55.... Ticket counter guy can put me on a 1:20 flight which connects through Charlotte and gets me to LAX around 6 tomorrow. Fine, do it. "By the way, can I have an overnight kit?" "No. You're making a voluntary change. The flight wasn't cancelled." "Yeah, but ... TEN HOUR DELAY!!??" Sorry, no overnight kit for me.

7:30 p.m. Am on telephone (for the second time, after my cell dropped the call) to the nice people at Marriott -- having noticed a Marriott hotel in the center of the airport. Yes, they have rooms. Yes, they can book me one.

7:40 p.m. Arrive at Marriott. Check in. Nice man at desk gives me a toothbrush and toothpaste. I have nothing with me but my carryon (purse, laptop, book, some hard candy) and the clothes on my person. Which are now OFF my person -- in the hopes I can wash my underthings in the sink and have clean underthings for my flight tomorrow. Which I expect to be very late, very oversold, and full of very smelly people.