Getting There

Wow.. Travel is getting more difficult everyday. My first flight out of Los Angeles was delayed so long I was going to miss my connection in Washington DC. The agent explained that what I’d have to do, is take the flight from Los Angeles to DC, fly from DC back to Chicago, then Chicago to London. Are they kidding? Fly from one coast to the other, back to the Midwest then on to London? I ask how long all of this was going to take and was told a whopping TWENTY SIX HOURS!! No thank you. Definitely not doing that.

Next option was to take the same flight the next day, not great, but better and I do live near the airport so I was able to go home and sleep in my own bed.

Day two, LAX is a nightmare. The lines are out the door and down the block what is going on? Where are all these people going? Why are they putting themselves through this agony?

Personally, if I didn’t have to go for work, I would never fly in the summer. Actually considering the state of airline travel, I would probably opt to stay home, walk on the beach, sip Sangria, and have a relaxing summer.

Fortunately, I am a United Gold member so I can check in at the Premiere desk which is quick and they take your bags to X-Ray, so you don’t have to drag them across the lobby and wait in another line. There are a few perks to flying a lot. They also have a Premiere line for getting through security so this isn’t too painful either, but wait… there is no such thing as flying without pain any longer. My second flight is also delayed, and I’m going to miss my connection AGAIN!! Can you believe this? Is this something telling me I’m not meant to fly to London?

People are lined up around the desk all talking at once and shouting at the gate agent. Would not want her job today. I tell her my sad tale, and she takes pity on me and tells me that she will put me on the non-stop for the NEXT DAY. I’m starting to feel like I will never get to Wimbledon, but my only other option is to fly to DC and try to get on a standby to London. No, I do not want to hang out at the DC airport for heaven only knows how long hoping to get on a flight then for sure getting a horrible seat.

Ok… will take the non-stop even though this means another cab ride back to my house. So far I’ve spent $120.00 in cab fare and I’m not finished. Can she bump me up to business? Yes she will do this, I’m a good customer of United and she feels bad for all my problems. Things are starting to look up.

One more bright spot. My cab ride. Before going back to the airport for the second time, I called my usual taxi company and booked a driver. A normal looking yellow cab pulled up to my house exactly on time, a pleasant driver hopped out and loaded my bags, and opened the door for me. OH MY WORD!! I have never seen anything like this. The entire interior is covered with photos of passengers and friends, flashing mini lights, a large flashing ball, basket of candy, typed sayings and clips of newspaper articles about this taxi. The driver Kenny tells me that no one is just a passenger. Everyone is a friend who he is helping to get where they are going safely.

Originally from Jordan, he says that life in Southern California with the beautiful weather spoils you for any place else.He tells me how he loves his job. How everyday is different, how everyday he meets such wonderful people.

I completely lucked out in getting this cab, because normally he doesn’t take calls that come in on the company phone. He has his own customers who call him directly or give his number to friends. He only took this call because they were short handed and ask him to pick me up.

He said his daughters started decorating his taxi several years ago. It started small but has grown over the years. The holidays are his favorite. On Halloween the whole cab is done up like a haunted house with a huge pumpkin on top. At Christmas there is of course a Christmas tree and Santa. Thanksgiving you will find a large Turkey riding on the roof …don’t worry, it’s not real.

So, with all my travel problems, something good came. I met a man who will lift your spirits, who does his job with joy and love. No one can be in a bad mood in Kenny's cab. Thank you, Kenny you made my day.

If any are any are ever coming to Los Angeles and need a taxi, drop me a line, and I’ll give you Kenny’s number. I promise, you won’t be disappointed .

Okay, enough of my travel talk. Guess I’d better talk a little about Tennis.

The big news for the Brit’s was Elena Baltacha’s win over Germany’s Angelique Kerber, making her the first British female into the second round. This with warm sun shining made it a very nice opening day for the English.

Nalbandian, seeded seventh, and a former finalist here was the first seed on the men’s side to fall. A nice revenge for Dancevic who lost to the Argentine in the second round last year.

Big serving American Sam Querry took the opening set from Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, but the 21^st seeded Ferrero prevailed in four sets.

What’s up with all these Spanish clay court guys doing so well on grass? Nadal and David Ferrer both won grass court events in the last two weeks. This is going to be a very interesting Wimbledon. Is there really red clay packed beneath that emerald green grass?

On the women’s side, 12^th seed, Patty Schnyder is out, and Kuznetsova had a scare, but pulled out her match in three sets.

That’s it for today… tune in tomorrow and I’ll share more adventures at the Big W.