(pic) More on the prosaics of travel On the plane in Philadelphia and a race to the next gate

Only 1 1/2 hours late in Philly, the plane finally gets on its way. But wait, now we have to go through a de-icing station. A man sits in a box atop a crane and gives the airplane wings a shower of chemicals. I feel somewhat safer.

A beautiful view from the plane of snow and hills.We arrive in Atlanta at 3:10 and my connecting flight is at 3:35. I'm standing in the back of the plane and want to shout, "If you don't have to catch another plane right now SIT DOWN"
Or wishing the flight attendants would do that.
Instead, I watch the snow motion ballet of bags tumbling down from the overhead compartment (how often do you get to write the words overhead compartment)
AS soon as the path is cleared, I run through an obstacle course of crowds, carts, baggage, literally pushing people out of the way on escalators (doesn't anyone know that you should stand on the right side if you are not walking down the escalator).
Out of breath, but on time, a good sign. At the gate everyone is still waiting at the gate. Wouldn't you know it, the plane was delayed and left 45 minutes later!

In that 45 minutes I talked with a high school student who had just competed in the Junior Fencing Olympics in Memphis, a women whose daughter is thinking about becoming an ESL teacher, and a lovely Atlanta native.
Arrived in Seattle safe and sound only 6 hours later than originally planned, but just in time to go to my friends home to watch the snow cross wipeouts and the men's short program.

The prosaics of travel

Today is the day I leave for Seattle, the first leg of my trip. Or rather, try to leave. I can now be counted among the living dead that haunt the airports in search of a rescheduled flight. Somewhere along my flight path, the weather interfered, my first flight was cancelled, and so I have to wait for a later flight not through Minneapolis, but through Atlanta. Usually you can count on that city to be relatively weather proof, but I think today even Atlanta is part of this winter's cauldron that is brewing storms all over the USA. There is no snow there, but it is cold.
Across from me is a mother and daughter enjoying a retelling of a funny story about when her daughter was lost as a child, so they seem to be making the most of the 'lost' time waiting. Others calculate the extra distances they may need to drive if rerouted to a different airport. A businessman, immaculately dressed, has an uplifting conversation, ending it with a huge smile. A marine waits to go home perhaps, or off to his next assignment. Boarding announcements for the lucky ones. Reading, iphoning, ipodding,blogging, daydreaming, sipping coffee, for the rest of us.
An airport worker walks out of the elevator "...We're going to get more snow next week, a big one this time..."
Enough snow!

So nu, what is a mogul?

Mo·gul (mgl, m-gl)
n.
Mo·ghul (m-gl, m-) or Mu·ghal (m-gl)

check out #2, Who knew?

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Mogul [ˈməʊgʌl məʊˈgʌl] n
1. (Historical Terms) a member of the Muslim dynasty of Indian emperors established by Baber in 1526 See Great Mogul
2. (Non-Christian Religions / Islam) (Social Science / Peoples) a Muslim Indian, Mongol, or Mongolian
adj
(Historical Terms) of or relating to the Moguls or their empire
[from Persian mughul Mongol]
mogul1
n
1. an important or powerful person
2. (Transport / Railways) a type of steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six driving wheels, and no trailing wheels
[from Mogul]
mogul2
n
(Individual Sports & Recreations / Skiing) a mound of hard snow on a ski slope
[perhaps from South German dialect Mugl]

Philadelphia wins big in snow removal moguls

The snow and weather cooperated to set up perfect conditions for the newest Olympic sport, city street moguls cross. This sport is a cross between the well known bumps and grinds of downhill moguls and the chaotic intensity of ski cross racing with such moves as busted double axles, tire spins, and fender benders.

Athletes who attempt this dangerous sport must be prepared to traverse a grueling course which includes unplowed narrow streets, out of order traffic lights and surprise Competitors like city buses, UPS trucks, disabled cars,SVUs and the ever ubiquitous oblivious cell phone toting pedestrian.

How is the course set up? First, there must be at least 18 inches of snow, and better yet, two sets in one week, too much for the sponsors of the event to clean up completely. Streets must not be plowed sufficiently and the weather is best when below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes for perfect conditions. In this scenario, cars and SVUs alike must dodge pothole like terrain of packed snow and ice. For the more advance competitions, two way streets are piled on either side with snow so that only one lane is available.

This weeks competition between Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC saw one of the most fierce battles since the blizzard of 1996.
Kudos to Philadelphia for taking all the gold, silver and bronze.

Olympic opening ceremony (video)

Didja watch the opening ceremony?
Loved some of the country outfits-I think I'd like to find the jackets from Turkey (very formfitting and slimming, but what do Olympic athletes need with slimming jackets), the wool hats from the US, and the Canadian scarves.
Loved seeing the Cayman Islands in the winter Olympics.
Loved having friends around to enjoy, kibbutz, comment, Ooo and awe.
Loved having my brother and mother call in from Maryland to add to the fun.
Loved the way they created the wheat fields, and the whales, the fish, and other amazing effects. How did they do that?

Loved how they kept zooming in on Shaun White, the redheaded Snowboard phenom. His authentic gee whiz excitement made me smile.
But under all the pomp and ceremony and joy, there was such grief over the loss of the Georgian athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died on a practice Luge run. I've never seen a stadium of over 60,000 people hold such a thundering silence as they did in his honor.