Friday, August 10, 2007 Sayson: Waiting in limbo By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
SACRAMENTO — Because the 737-700 Airbus was having “mechanical problems,” my SouthWest Airlines Flight 1561 was delayed for departure last night at Chicago’s Midway Airport.
After waiting in limbo at Gate B2, I finally saw a runway, and eventually the skies, at 8:30 p.m., one hour and 20 minutes behind schedule.
If the flight had some commotion or ran through a turbulence, I wouldn’t know. The only sound I heard and made was this — zzzzzzz.
Flight 1561 touched down Sacramento Metropolitan Airport 4 hours and 31 minutes after leaving Chicago. It was 12:35 a.m. when I got off a cab in front of the Sutter House on 1100 H street. It was deserted, like Baghdad on curfew hours.
As I paid the cab driver the $33 fare, a white Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) with heavily-tinted windows pulled over. And from that massive four-wheeled contraption, three of Cebu’s most famous faces emerged — international promoter Sammy Gello-ani, artist and Philboxing.com owner Dong Secuya, and CDN and the Inquirer’s Salven Lagumbay, whose steps were bouncing off his Nike Shox. No surpise, Dong handed me a soft blue bag for pasalubong. It was bursting with La Fortuna’s dce hopia, my favorite. After carting our luggages inside our respective rooms, we assembled at the lobby and headed to a Denny’s, a 24-hour diner in the corner of H and 3rd street.
We walked as though we were walking for a cause, navigating eight seemingly interminable city blocks littered with homeless people and empty buildings.
We did arrive at Denny’s with enough wind to go through the plastic-laminated menus. Sammy, Salven and I each had chicken wings with fries that dripped with enough lard to make an elephant dizzy.True to his unrepentant vegetarian ways, Dong Secuya had mushroom burger with orange mango juice.
Shortly before our meals arrived from the rumbling kitchen nearby, PDI coulmnist Recah Trinidad came with Inquirer special contributor Percy Della. They brought life to a dinner that was slowly dying with the peace of the small, wee hours of the morning.
It was 4:15 a.m., local time I finally retired. After all the walking I felt like I just crossed the Mojave desert. Lights out at 4:50 a.m.
The late bedtime and very late rise got me in near trouble with the editor whose patience I tested last night. But hey, I’m at the World cup. Now. Enjoy my coverage, boys and girls.
