“The plane is broke, it’s a no go.” The United captain had barely prophesied our fate before the lovely flight attendant, hair tied tight up on her head, put herself in an “I must help everyone” mode. “Good luck y’all! There’s magazines outside!” Cellphones shot to old men’s ears. “Hello Dave this is Frank, my flight to Chicago has been cancelled…” The matter-of-fact tone not at all disguising rage, frustration, cursing with every expletive. 

A younger man turned toward me as I pulled my backpack down from the overhead bin. He looked panicked. “I’ve never had a flight cancelled before,” he confessed. “What do we do?” I told him I think we wait in a line. The helpful flight attendant