The Mile-High Flub

Here I am, stuck in Alabama with the Seattle blues again. Out of a series of mechanical problems with United flight 5993, I ended up at the Holiday Inn five minutes from Birmingham's airport with a Guatemalan friend named Lorenzo who spoke no English. I helped him figure out how to use the phone in his cuarto (dial 9 + 1 + Area Code + Number) and then took to the lounge with my $15 voucher courtesy of United Air. At the bar I met Tom, a brash Republican and small-business owner of a vending machine distribution company and Mark, his General Manager who came across as more of a sidekick. We discussed the merits of Mitt Romney and Barak Obama and four beers later I was fed up with their welfare-hatin' rhetoric and decided to go to bed. Now I find myself waiting for a flight to Chicago where I'll spend the weekend. It makes more sense than heading back to Seattle where I'd get about 8 hours of leisure time in before heading back to the airport to fly across the country to Richmond, VA.

In any case, what a week! Newark, NJ was my stop on Tuesday, where I got to spend a couple hours touring its beautiful Downtown before my flight left for Richmond:

A stroll down Broad Street, Newark, NJ

Newark felt like a ghost of what once was a clean, booming city. Walking the streets on Tuesday I saw lots of pawn shops and street vendors selling belts and disposable contact lenses.

A parking lot in one of the many dark alleys of Newark

The rest of the week I fought banquet managers in Richmond over the price of soda ($2.50/can), bellmen in Alabama (please leave my luggage alone, for once! I'm not giving you any fucking more money for carrying it up the elevator), and a whole slew of cattle ranchers from the Alabama Cattlemen's Association:


Another week away from home. I wonder if I'll ever get a change of clothes. My night in Chicago will be fun, though. It'll be good to party down with some familiar faces and have a much shorter flight on Sunday. What time zone am I in? Don't change the towels! I asked for those eggs over-medium not over-easy! Anyhow, off to the airport.