First Class Missions

I was about to comment last night about how we almost always have trouble with our flights to or from Belize. Decided not to jinx this flight. Then we got the call at 4:30. Luckily we were already up, because we were carpooling to the airport with Chuck and Dale and Ashley. The Delta voice bot politely informed us that our flight at 7:25 had been canceled and we had been automatically rescheduled for Sunday morning. We panicked. A quick call to Chuck eliminated the carpool rendezvous, and we headed off to the airport to see what could be done.
Showing up at the gate, I threw myself on the mercy of the of the gate agent. I said I wouldn't make such a fuss except I was going on a mission trip and was meeting half my team for a shared car ride in Belize. She said that since we were so early, she could probably get me on the 6:25 flight if they could get a couple volunteers to give up their seats. I felt only a little guilty for only a little while. When I thanked her she grinned and said "I think this will be the beginning of a very good day."
I puzzled over what she meant. All the way to Atlanta. When we checked in and realized we didn't have boarding passes. We went to the ticketing counter and explained our situation. The ticket agent punched in our information, glanced at the screen and looked up at us. He grinned too. He asked if this trip was a special occasion. I said it was a mission trip. He said I guess that's special enough -- you're booked First Class!
Our gate agent was right. It's been a very good day after a somewhat rocky start. We hooked up with everybody we needed to at the airport and were able to meet the Chiquins and Filberta and Odelia in Armenia. Dinner at Hode's in San Ignacio with a visit from Sheree and Aki capped a long but fruitful day.
Tomorrow it starts all over again.
For now, goodnight!
- dan terpstra