Jayden asked me to join her for Dallas Market this summer. It took place in June and I happily accepted as her business assistant. Any chance to spend time with my daughter is a treat. I flew into the airport in Dallas where Jayden picked me up in the giant mega cab truck. I questioned her decision in taking the largest truck possible through the city of Dallas. That would not have been my first pick. It was tall, loud, and big. We had quite a time parking in the little tiny parking spaces and garages made for compact cars. The traffic and multi lanes made driving more of a challenge. The first night we ate BBQ. We stayed in an average hotel close to Market. In the morning we took a shuttle 5 minutes to the Dallas Market. 15 floors of store upon store. It was so much fun to see all the merchandise, the sales reps., and the shoppers. From clothes, kids wear, shoes, boots, and jewelry, we shopped and picked out all kinds of new things. Jayden has an eye for things she likes and things she knows her clientele will like. Within hours of buying a very high dollar piece of authentic turquoise, Jayden listed it and sold it! All the fashion styles people wore, the clothes and shoes were all very interesting. A lot of the cutest outfits, in my mind were ruined by wacky shoes. I enjoyed people watching and hearing Jayden do business transactions. She is so professional and well spoken. She could be the CEO of a major company some day, I have no doubt. I guess she is on her way.
We spent two full days at the market and then ate out at night. One night to our favorite pizza place, and one night Sushi. Jayden insisted we get popsicles for dessert too. Our evenings were quiet, just relaxing in the room and a little time in the pool. It was over 100 everyday, so the pool felt good. Saturday, my last day, we ate a large breakfast at a cafe across the street. The cafe is one that is small and famous, it has been around for many years. We laid by the pool to get some sun before it was time to say goodbye.. It was so hot we had to jump in the water often.
Another great visit and time together. Each time we say goodbye we talk of the next time we will get together. Jayden plans to come home in August for some family time. If I look forward to the next visit, it makes being far apart a little more bearable. After Jayden dropped me off at the airport, my flight got delayed. I wasn't concerned until after another hour, it was delayed again. I walked around the airport and could see the very airplane we were supposed to board. They were claiming there was technical issues in the cockpit and they were working on it. I could see no activity other than our luggage was sitting waiting to board for several hours. My twice delayed flight was supposed to depart and around 6PM, then the flight was cancelled! I really thought it was the technical issue until I noticed other flights were cancelled. Apparently they give you an excuse so as not to upset everyone as much. In reality, I hears they didn't have the flight attendants for the flight. Airlines are short of help too. I stood in line with hundreds of others trying to figure out what's next. I talked to Jadyen who had made her 3 hour drive back to Dallas already. She kept telling me she would come back and get me, I could stay at the ranch. That would be silly, 3 hours to Dallas, 3 hours to the ranch, then turn around and take me 3 hours back and return to the ranch 3 hours...12 hours of driving, no. While waiting in line I met a lovely lady named Connie. She was in her late 70's widowed and traveling to see her kids. We talked the entire time in line, which was a long time and she told me of all the travels she has made in her life. Her husband had worked for the airline and they loved to travel with another friend couple. It was fun to share travel stories and hear about her international locations. When we got to the front of the line, I let her go ahead of me and gave her my cell number in case she needed anything. At the counter I was given a travel voucher for a stay in a hotel and food. The next flight to DSM would be Wednesday! This was a Saturday and tomorrow was Father's day. I heard someone mention Cedar Rapids. I was lucky enough to book a flight to Cedar Rapids for the next night arriving at 11PM. That meant Mark had to drive almost 3 hours to Cedar Rapids and drive me home late. It was the best option. While waiting outside the airport at the shuttle pick up, I sat next to an elderly gentlemen that had been waiting for an hour for his shuttle. Like me, nobody had told us we had to call our hotel, we were only told to wait for a shuttle. I looked at his voucher and called his hotel. He was sad and starting to get really frustrated. He had flown to Reno to visit his dying brother. He hadn't flown in years and was so upset to have his flight cancelled. He had a big delay in his first flight, hadn't eaten or gone to the bathroom all day. All his medications were on his checked luggage and he was concerned. I sat with the man until his shuttle came and visited with him. I told him I would pray for his brother and for him. I really felt like God put those two people in front of me and wished I could have done more. A shuttle took me to a nice hotel with a giant room. I was in the airlines hotel where all the pilots and flight attendants stay. I checked in and ordered out Chinese food and binge watched Netflix and Amazon shows. I was soo grateful for a smart tv in my room, that was a first and a lifesaver. I thought about leaving to get food, maybe do some shopping, but I just didn't want to go anywhere alone in such a big city. I felt safe in my room. I had little to complain about. I had a hotel to hang out in, all my luggage with me and had a flight booked for home. Some travelers miss weddings, funerals, vacations, connecting flights, important life events. Well, I certainly wasn't the only one. From the internet....On Sunday alone, more than 4,200 flights were delayed and 900 flights were canceled across the country, according to FlightAware. DALLAS — Throughout the country there have airport delays and cancellations because of staff shortages. Millions of people are flying and they’re left feeling frustrated this holiday weekend. The delays are a combination of staff shortages and pilot shortages, which are forcing some major carriers to cancel hundreds of flights across the country. A Delta spokesperson says other factors are the weather and absences because of COVID-19. Airlines are struggling to keep up with the surge of travelers, where at least 2.4 million people passed through TSA checkpoints on Friday alone.
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