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The flight to Paris didn’t get to leave the ground before the weird began to happen. I have been on more planes over the years where flight crew will say things like, “I’ve flown for six years and never seen anything like it.” I’m beginning to think it’s me, somehow. Airplane was waiting on tarmac for fifteen minutes. Captain Davis comes on intercom system, and says that he’s not sure why the paper work is not coming through or why we’re delayed. Thirty minutes in and Capt. Davis says, “Our cargo was not distributed to the optimal center of gravity.” Further more, “I’ve done this for 10 years and never head of this before, but we’ve got to go back and be repacked.”

An hour in Capt. Davis says, “American only has 10 gates capable of doing a wide body plane and they’re full. There is a push crew at one gate and as soon as it’s clear we’ll go in.” The arrival time to Paris just kept ticking away later and later. I hate to be stuck on the ground in a plane, because my phobia gets one last chance to back out and stay on the ground. In reality, it doesn’t because once the plane door closes no one gets off for anything except serious medical emergency. A panic attack, which I did not have, is not grounds for escape. But the temptation was there as the minutes ticked away.

One hour and thirty minutes later we’re still waiting. Two hours we are at the gate getting water and in business class and up nuts or cheese, and beverages. I am sitting sipping hot tea and listening to Godsmack, because they’ve let us use our electronic devices again on the ground. That probably means we’re going be here awhile. I use the time to edit the first three chapters of the next book. I have to decide what from Bullet needs to be excised and what can be kept. These chapters actually came directly from the June book, but were so much side plot that the plot needed it’s own book. It’s both the easiest start to a book I’ve ever had and most frustrating. On one hand I just have to edit and smooth transitions though I do have to introduce characters and the world because these chapters were later in the book after all that had been established, but other than that I’m very happy with them. Frustrating because my muse and I like to throw ourselves on the blank page and see what happens. This kind of start steals that initial thrill from us.

Jon and I have plugged in our phones. I’d tweeted, emailed, and Facebooked until my iPhone was low enough to give an alarm. Thanks to having power converters we can char age phones. Yea! The family across the way is not so lucky with their daughter’s iPod touch, no power converter no juice, unhappy and very sullen girl. Sullen that early in European vacation is not a good sign.

Two hours and fifteen minutes and our plane is ready to back away from the gate, except now there’s a plane behind us blocking us in. *laughs* Finally able to back up. We are on our way to take off, at last.

Yes, I did have my Kermit the Frog moment where I wanted to run around the cabin screaming and waving my arms which is why I got out the chapters to work on. The airline personnel frown on hysterics and other passengers would have had no sense of humor about anyone delaying the flight at this point. I don’t blame them, so no running around and being all froggy, or would that be Kermitity?

Plane is taxing on the runway. Maybe we’ll actually get off the ground and head to Paris this time, and we did, and we arrived safely, and it’s all good.