O Captain, My Captain: My Ship Without a Captain Story
I am back in Utah! That deserves both a smiley and a frowny face. It was hard leaving home knowing that it was the last time I would be home as a little girl, and knowing that I might not see Caleb again before he leaves on his mission and a lot of other things. But I'm moving with my life, I get to start with my internship and I get to see my fiance again!
However, getting to Utah was a big deal. Because we were a ship without a captain. I got up very early to get to my 6am flight in Rochester. The flight was a bit late with the take-off and such, but it wasn't a huge problem. Then, I got to Chicago. The flight was on-time in Chicago, and we even got on the plane. But, we had been sitting on the plane for about ten minutes when they tell us, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about ready to get underway here. Our captain is arriving a different gate and he will be with us shortly." We all thought, "Okay, we're good to go." About twenty minutes later they tell us, "There seems to have been a miscommunication with pilot scheduling and we don't have a pilot. We are communicating with the crew scheduling and we will get back to you shortly." Yes, you understood me correctly. They neglected to get us a pilot! As Caleb summarized it (I like the way he summarizes most things), "Engine broke down, wheels fall off. People give airlines a bad rap. But I feel like that's an oversight you can't really excuse. How did you forget to get a pilot?"
Here, I tried to make a joke about it. Unfortunately, some people around me had no sense of humor. I only said, "If we all take a passenger vote, can we leave the pilot behind?" Some people laughed, others looked at me as if they were thinking, "Are you so stupid that you think we could fly without a pilot?" After about ten more minutes or so of sitting on the plane, they told us, "We are going to deplane and sit in the lobby. We are looking for a pilot, but we don't know if we will get one in five minutes or an hour." So, we all got off and sat in the lobby. One of the passengers behind me said, "Are they going to make us do the loading and unloading until we can all board the plane in less than five minutes?" (I thought that was a good joke, too). At this point, I can't help but think of the scene from Airplane: "There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"
So, we all hung out in the lobby. As passengers, we considered sticking out our thumbs to passing pilots. It wasn't much longer though, than a pilot came up. The black hat was never more welcome. From the conversation with the gate agent, it seemed that he had just finished a flight and was about to head home when he was essentially asked, "Do you mind flying to Salt Lake City?"
The gate agent also asked him, "You're getting paid extra, right?" The pilot said, "Oh yeah. Huge bonus."
So, we got back on the plane. We got back in out seats and put stuff in the overhead bins more quickly this time, so maybe there was validity to the whole exercise. Then, when our saving-pilot got on the intercom (an hour and twenty minutes after our takeoff time) and introduced himself as our captain, all we could think was, "O Captain, My Captain!"
However, getting to Utah was a big deal. Because we were a ship without a captain. I got up very early to get to my 6am flight in Rochester. The flight was a bit late with the take-off and such, but it wasn't a huge problem. Then, I got to Chicago. The flight was on-time in Chicago, and we even got on the plane. But, we had been sitting on the plane for about ten minutes when they tell us, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about ready to get underway here. Our captain is arriving a different gate and he will be with us shortly." We all thought, "Okay, we're good to go." About twenty minutes later they tell us, "There seems to have been a miscommunication with pilot scheduling and we don't have a pilot. We are communicating with the crew scheduling and we will get back to you shortly." Yes, you understood me correctly. They neglected to get us a pilot! As Caleb summarized it (I like the way he summarizes most things), "Engine broke down, wheels fall off. People give airlines a bad rap. But I feel like that's an oversight you can't really excuse. How did you forget to get a pilot?"
Here, I tried to make a joke about it. Unfortunately, some people around me had no sense of humor. I only said, "If we all take a passenger vote, can we leave the pilot behind?" Some people laughed, others looked at me as if they were thinking, "Are you so stupid that you think we could fly without a pilot?" After about ten more minutes or so of sitting on the plane, they told us, "We are going to deplane and sit in the lobby. We are looking for a pilot, but we don't know if we will get one in five minutes or an hour." So, we all got off and sat in the lobby. One of the passengers behind me said, "Are they going to make us do the loading and unloading until we can all board the plane in less than five minutes?" (I thought that was a good joke, too). At this point, I can't help but think of the scene from Airplane: "There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"
So, we all hung out in the lobby. As passengers, we considered sticking out our thumbs to passing pilots. It wasn't much longer though, than a pilot came up. The black hat was never more welcome. From the conversation with the gate agent, it seemed that he had just finished a flight and was about to head home when he was essentially asked, "Do you mind flying to Salt Lake City?"
The gate agent also asked him, "You're getting paid extra, right?" The pilot said, "Oh yeah. Huge bonus."
So, we got back on the plane. We got back in out seats and put stuff in the overhead bins more quickly this time, so maybe there was validity to the whole exercise. Then, when our saving-pilot got on the intercom (an hour and twenty minutes after our takeoff time) and introduced himself as our captain, all we could think was, "O Captain, My Captain!"
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