Scotland Trip - Getting Started
It's never easy, flying overseas. (Heck, it's never easy "flying." Enough said.)
I had a 3:45p departure planned for today, Charleston to Philadelphia, connecting at 8:30p for Philadelphia to Glasgow. The weather, the heightened security because of the bombings in London, the G8 conference at Gleneagles - all combined to advise a prudent traveler (actually, the prudent travel advisor, Cathy Farmer) to have me depart on an earlier flight out of Charleston.
So I have six - not three - hours to kill in the PHL airport.
I'm in the Envoy Lounge, the upscale part of the US Air Club. On this side of the club, reserved, I guess, for the platinum-level guys and gals and those of us with first class tickets - on this side of the club the air is cleaner, quieter and - ta da! - the booze is free.
When Neil MacKenzie, who is also among us on this Blue Elephant trip - arrived from Greensboro, I invited him to be my guest here in the club, but, "Nooooo!" No guests in the Envoy Lounge. (I'm reminded of Chris Rock's sthtick a few years ago about the "Champagne Room." Go here.) I tried to slip Neil a free beer, but, again, "Nooooo!" No alcohol or food from the Envoy Lounge is allowed in the regular US Air Club.
Remember the line in "Chinatown" when the guy tells Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), "Jake, come on, it's Chinatown," as though that would explain anything that didn't make sense? Well, it's US Air, I said to myself, as though that explained the illogical distinction between the Envoy and the "regular" US Air Club.
In about twelve hours none of it matters anyway. We'll be standing on the first tee at Western Gailes in Scotland, eight Blue Elephants, commencing our golf trip with a warm-up round before heading to Troon on Saturday.
No bombs in London, no politicians at Gleneagles, no tropical storm remains - nothing will stop us from having BIA ("balls in air") at 3p London time on Friday.
I had a 3:45p departure planned for today, Charleston to Philadelphia, connecting at 8:30p for Philadelphia to Glasgow. The weather, the heightened security because of the bombings in London, the G8 conference at Gleneagles - all combined to advise a prudent traveler (actually, the prudent travel advisor, Cathy Farmer) to have me depart on an earlier flight out of Charleston.
So I have six - not three - hours to kill in the PHL airport.
I'm in the Envoy Lounge, the upscale part of the US Air Club. On this side of the club, reserved, I guess, for the platinum-level guys and gals and those of us with first class tickets - on this side of the club the air is cleaner, quieter and - ta da! - the booze is free.
When Neil MacKenzie, who is also among us on this Blue Elephant trip - arrived from Greensboro, I invited him to be my guest here in the club, but, "Nooooo!" No guests in the Envoy Lounge. (I'm reminded of Chris Rock's sthtick a few years ago about the "Champagne Room." Go here.) I tried to slip Neil a free beer, but, again, "Nooooo!" No alcohol or food from the Envoy Lounge is allowed in the regular US Air Club.
Remember the line in "Chinatown" when the guy tells Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), "Jake, come on, it's Chinatown," as though that would explain anything that didn't make sense? Well, it's US Air, I said to myself, as though that explained the illogical distinction between the Envoy and the "regular" US Air Club.
In about twelve hours none of it matters anyway. We'll be standing on the first tee at Western Gailes in Scotland, eight Blue Elephants, commencing our golf trip with a warm-up round before heading to Troon on Saturday.
No bombs in London, no politicians at Gleneagles, no tropical storm remains - nothing will stop us from having BIA ("balls in air") at 3p London time on Friday.
posted by Mark Burris - BURRIS at 5:37 PM
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