Mar 2: Stranded Schmanded

No one can really get "stranded" in South Florida. More like a reprieve, if you ask me. I read in Monday's newspaper that hundreds of folks couldn't fly home over the weekend. According to the report, these people were "stranded" here. Big snowstorms in Atlanta, then the mess began moving up the coast. Winter storm warnings were issued from North Carolina to New Hampshire, with 8 to 12 inches of snow expected. One Associated Press story I just read online talked about "the blizzard-like snow - together with sleet, freezing rain and wind gusts of up to 30 mph." Lovely. So tell me something. Who in their right mind is in a hurry to jet back to this? All you folks waiting at the airport - get a clue. Take off your down parkas and stay a while. Relax. You were not "stranded" by the storm. You were selected by the weather gods.

Take it from a traveler who has been stranded. And not in paradise either. In Washington D.C. to be precise, which no one but a lobbyist could call paradise. I've been marooned at other airports for various lengths of time, of course, but my D.C. incident happened just a couple years ago. Not fun.

I was flying back to lovely, warm South Florida from Singapore. You may remember the big Valentine's Day winter storm in 2007? That was the one. So there I am looking to find my baggage, maneuver through customs, recheck my bags and fly home, right? Then comes an announcement over the public address system: "All flights have been cancelled for the rest of the day." Yes, it was a joy. Scrambling for a hotel room, squishing through the snow without a coat, battling for a taxi. In the end, everything worked out fine, partly due to some very nice people at a nearby Hilton hotel. I tell this little story for just one reason - to show the Fort Lauderdale visitors who missed flights what it means to be really stranded. Do you honestly want to rush back to slosh through Atlanta slush? To drag yourself through NYC drifts? To wade around New England waist-deep? Hey, the way I look at it, you've got a perfect excuse for that boss back home. "Geez, boss," you can say, "I'm really trying to get back! But, well ... I'm stranded!" This is the only time the word "stranded" is properly applied to South Florida, by the way. Then call up your hotel, check back in to your room, hang that parka away in the closet and go for a walk on the beach. It's a lovely sunny day for it. With any luck, you'll be "stranded" in Fort Lauderdale until Wednesday. At least.