The waiting is the hardest part

I wish that travel taught me more patience. Waiting is inevitable, and sometimes can be the opening to adventure.

Mostly though, it just sucks, even if you're one of the elites with access to an airline lounge. (Especially if someone nearby has his ringtone set to the theme from The Exorcist, and he gets a new phone call approximately every ninety seconds.)

I'm on my way to California, but weather delays have pushed my flight back several hours and my initial determination to eat fruit and carrot sticks while reading my history of the Panama Canal has devolved into eating handfuls of the free candy and reading People.