Over the weekend, I attended the McLean Bible Church’s Accessibility Summit. The trip was a short one, rendered even shorter by a 6 hour delay in the Southwest flight out of Omaha. The Omaha airport is small, and Terminal B, where we were trapped because our boarding passes had already been collected and the staff wasn’t forthcoming with new ones, is even smaller. Determined to polish my perky, Pollyanna image, I spent the 6 hour delay refining the following top ten lessons list:

10.   The delay was the perfect opportunity to guess which men and women, during their childhoods, knocked fourth grade classmates out of the way in order to get to the front of the line.

9.    The second thing to do when a flight delay is announced (the first thing is to knock people out of the way so you can be first in line at the customer service desk) is to find an electrical outlet, plug in your phone, laptop, or iPad, and camp out.

8.     This spring’s top color combo for infant girl clothing is brown and pink.

7.     Much as I love my kids, I am thankful we no longer need to travel with young children.

6.     Janet Evanovich books on an iPad make the delay much funnier.

5.     When the only food vendor in the terminal is Godfather’s Pizza, people with a dairy allergies go hungry.

4.    Customer service people are trained to be courteous and patient, but not particularly forthcoming with information. On the flip side, riding herd on fourth graders is easier than dealing with irate airline passengers facing a 6 hour delay.

3.    6 hours is long enough for the most technologically-challenged person to fall in love with an iPad 3.

2.   6 hours is not long enough for a person to master the art of spreading the sanitary cover on the toilet and perching before the automatic switch flushes it away.

1.   6 hour delays are to be expected when you accidentally pack your deodorant in your checked luggage instead of your carry on bag.

Now it’s your turn. What lessons have you learned during flight delays? Leave a comment.