I recently took a trip to visit some dear friends in Vegas and decided against gambling. My plane landed beautifully and was taxing to the gate when it slammed on its brakes. Trying to lighten the mood the stewardess said, "That is why we ask you to keep your seat belt fastened until the plane comes to a complete stop." Evidently, another taxing airplane did not see us and we almost collided. So I figured I had used up a Hugh chunk of luck in that encounter and gambling would be a risk. I had a wonderful time in Vegas, the highlight being a rafting trip on the Colorado river.
The two other trips I took this year had flight issues also and I was beginning to think air travel was not a good choice for me. Visiting a friend in Maryland my departure flight was canceled due to lightening. My trip to South Carolina my flight was delayed six hours due to high winds in Chicago. I figured I had my air travel incident all handled in the Vegas arrival. I boarded the plane at 2pm. for a return flight. It was very hot in Vegas and the old "it's a dry heat" excuse for why it is bearable did not impress at 109@. It was hot! As we taxied to the runway the captain announced the temperature in Chicago. Hot, Hot, Hot! Oh yes, and humid...although he did not say this. The engine fired for takeoff and then the pilot slammed on the brakes. Everyone flew forward in their seat waiting to see what happened. A warning light had gone off in the cockpit and the flight had to be aborted. We taxied back to the gate with no air conditioning on the plane and had to deplane. Six hours later a new plane arrived and I was headed home. I'm thinking maybe I should give air travel a pass for awhile.
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