Cuttin' it Too Close

Plot and Duck always allow two hours from the time they leave World Headquarters until their plane is scheduled to leave. But on the infrequent occasions when they actually drive to the airport, they can get away with a little less.

Today was crazy though. Plottie is heading to Stiletto for a quick two day recording and Mom-visit, but he was thinking his plane left at 12:30 instead of 11:35. At 10:30 something told him he should think about getting ready. After realizing he was an hour late, and slapping himself up side of the head for a solid minute, he got cracking. He was out of the house by 10:35, which gave him one hour 'til the plane left, and he had to get to Oakland.

By 10:45 he was on the bridge, by 11:05 he had hit his first slowdown on the Nimitz SnailWay, by 11:10 he was in the airport but missed the parking lot cutoff. So he had to cut in front of a limo and speed around the airport again. Did he see that cop in back of the limo? Not until the red light went on behind him while he was frantically searching for a parking place.

"You cut off that limo, you roared through the airport, with all these people walking, you sped through the parking lot and I've been in back of you the whole time. You didn't notice me until right now," said the policeman, whose name was St. Egbert the Kind.

"I guess I'll miss my plane," said Plotnik, bowing his head, and St. Egbert asked him when it was leaving and Plottie said "15 minutes." "Be more careful next time," said the wonderful officer of the law as he let Plotnik slide. "Don't miss your plane, now."

Plotnik will buy tickets to the Airport Cop Policeman's Ball for sure. But he couldn't find an empty parking space except at the very FAR END of the lot, from which the terminal looks like this tiny row of buildings way off there in the distance, past the Stadium but before the water.

So he took off running with his roller bag and computer case. He asked a few people if he could go in front of them in the short security line, and they all said yes. By the time he got upstairs and could check the board for his gate it was 11:29. That's when he noticed his plane had been delayed twenty minutes.

Plot kept running anyway, just to be able to say he would have made the flight even if it hadn't been delayed, all the while thanking St. Egbert the Good and the OverLooker of Travelers Going to See Their Elderly Mothers.

Now it's noon and he's in high in the air, at 30,000 feet, staring down at gorgeous Pacifica and Half Moon Bay, a row to himself, seat belt fastened. The pilot (you won't believe this: HE HAS A SOUTHERN ACCENT!) says it's a beautiful day and he's right.

Nothin' to it. Obviously, you only need an hour to get to Oakland and onto the plane. We'll see what the Duck says about this.