The Western Flyer : in the DC blizzard of the century

[Shiva]

Hello all:

I have had the craziest trip ever. Went to Dallas, TX for a conference on Feb 3 and got stranded there cos of the storm back here in DC. Most of us could not get out, and when I finally did on Tues, our plane got diverted to Nashville cos the pilot was having a heart attack mid-air. Thankfully, we made a safe landing and they got us back to Baltimore just in time for the second storm.
So I am sitting here looking at 6 feet of snow piled up in my front and back yards..and I am just 5 feet! So you can imagine!

Mostly, i wanted to say how much I appreciated having the WF on this trip. I had this plus a small roll on (16inch); I packed both casual and dress clothes for a week, plus a lot of paperwork. While everyone else was struggling with bags on wheels when we finally got out at BWI, cos of snow covered parking lots and sidewalks, I walked away with my WF on my back and the small roll on could be carried really easily.

More than ever I am convinced that these bags work the best especially when the weather is awful. I just wish there was a way to snap close the open pocket in front....that wd make it perfect!

thanks again for the great bags. The medium cafe bag served as my conference bag, and it was great as always!

shiva

[gmanedit]

How did you find out about the heart attack? (They didn't announce it, right?)

[Shiva]

Actually, they did--after we made a safe landing. Quite surprising. But they let us know that he was being taken out by paramedics; I hope he made it through. People were very quiet and calm; I think most of in this area are just feeling completely deluged with the snowmageddon, snoverkiller--you name it! I lived in the midwest for many years, but never seen anything quite like this.

[gmanedit]

I've gotten over blizzard-mongering. One trip back from Florida, we gave away to fellow passengers delicious grapefruit that we thought we wouldn't be able to carry. When we landed and got into the city, the streets were shoveled and buses were running. I hope they all liked the grapefruit.

The last real blizzard we had here in NYC (in the nineties)—when there was no traffic, and people were walking (and even cross-country skiing) in the middle of the avenues—everybody in my division made it in to work (we got a day off in return) except our boss, who explained she couldn't get a cab. She lived the closest, and was a block away from a subway that would have taken her directly into our building.