And there we were the four of us, feeling absolutely doomed and helpless, witnessing the first domino tipping and slowly falling.\u00a0 If we missed our flight to Miami, we would likely be a day late to Quito, in which case our guided trip would have to leave without us, and we would probably only be able to catch up to them via an airlift to the Amazon basin.\u00a0 But one thing that I have always told my kids is to make sure you are in the right line and best line, and not to just stand meekly in amongst the other herded masses.\u00a0 So I told them to stay put in the doomed line while I reconnoitered.\u00a0 In some airports there is a secret check in counter around the corner that is ostensibly for checking oversized baggage, like a bass fiddle or bicycle (please don\u2019t tell anyone else).\u00a0 One year when many flights were cancelled, I was able to triumphantly break through the clutter and successfully rebook to San Jose, saving a weekend trip to San Francisco.\u00a0 But no such luck here.<\/p>\n
The clotted crush of people and merged lines made it hard to notice, but I spotted one line that had only four or five people in it.\u00a0 As I approached I saw that it was marked \u201cFor Airport Personnel\u201d only.\u00a0 But I also noticed that one young woman in this line was clearly not personnel.\u00a0 She was wearing tight fitting jeans, some sort of abbreviated top displayed her taut midriff adorned with a belly button ring, and was saying, \u201cLike when I get to Cabo, like I am really go to get tan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you work for the airlines?\u201d I asked.\u00a0 her.\u00a0 \u201cNo, she said,\u201d someone just told
\nme to stand here.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell guess what,\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cThat the same person told me to
\nstand in this line next to you.\u00a0 Could you please save my place so that I can find the rest of my family?\u201d<\/p>\n
She was clearly unwilling to commit to saving my place, since we both knew were on the knife-edge of disaster, and she, understandably, did not want to be responsible for the
\ndownfall of our vacation.\u00a0 But I hurriedly corralled the rest of my family and established our undeniable and resolute presence in this line.\u00a0 Although I was still as tense as a tick, I now had a plan that had some chance of success, and I felt a moment of superiority as I surveyed the scene.\u00a0 It occurred to me that this barely controlled airport chaos represented the foundation of democracy.\u00a0 Democracy can only work when there is some respect for the law and for rules.\u00a0 As I looked around I realized that my fellow Americans were by and large willing to follow the rules and meekly stand in futile lines waiting their turns.<\/p>\n
And then with horror, I realized that one of the American airlines service representatives was escorting people to cut in line ahead of us.\u00a0\u00a0He looked at us and said \u201cI\u2019m sorry, these folks will be late for their plane unless they check in.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 At this moment, I realized that this guy was tugging at the very fabric of democracy \u2013 bribery.\u00a0 Clearly these desperate and
\nclever families had slipped the airport guy a $20, $50 or $100 to skip ahead of the line.\u00a0 Yes perhaps I had stretched the rules a little bit by finding a better line, but bribery was clearly breaking the rules.\u00a0 There was now only one person ahead of us in the line, and I knew that we had to make it the finish line quickly before our little democracy collapsed into chaos – at any moment this line could be over run with people claiming that they would be late for their plane.\u00a0 And certainly the majority of us were well-heeled vacationers and not a desperate people trying to escape the icy grip of Communism, but a scene like the last plane out of Saigon came to mind.<\/p>\n
And then we were through.\u00a0 Last step security.\u00a0 If could have hoisted this heft, I would have done a cartwheel though security in my stocking feet, but I settled for a grateful jig.\u00a0 We made it to our gate with 20 minutes to spare, and I became the Mom Who Saved Christmas.<\/p>\n The airport was jammed and without a ——– plan I knew we\u2019d be late<\/p>\n Unable to check our bags, get through security and get to the gate.<\/p>\n Unless there was some sort of miracle and the\u00a0 line magically diminished,<\/p>\n I knew that our Christmas vacations was totally ——–.<\/p>\n I\u00a0should have just —— — my wallet to find money to give to the counter clerks,<\/p>\n Because now I now that bribery is the best way to grease the works.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n fiendish, finished, fished in<\/p>\nFollow Liza Blue on: For the past 50+ years I have celebrated Christmas in exactly the same way \u2013 family get togethers and toting casseroles from suburb to suburb, trying to make sure that everyone had the same quality and quantity of gifts and … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.fanagrams.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/line-management-saigon.png\" "\\"line")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe missing words in the following poem are anagrams (i.e. share the same letters, like spot, stop and post) and the number of asterisks indicates the number of letters.\u00a0 One of the missing words will rhyme with the preceding or following lines.\u00a0 Your job is to solve the missing words based on the above rules and the context of the poem.\u00a0 Scroll down for answers.<\/em><\/h6>\n
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