I thought of another one...
It was June 1985. My brother was going on a 7-week service project with our HS to Mexico to work in an orphanage. They drove with their chaperones from PA to Mexico over a week, worked for 5-weeks and took a week to drive home. We went to the Mass at the school to celebrate their adventure and we were on the road to drive to DW around 10:00 that night.
Everything was great until we were in West Virginia, around 3:30 a.m., and my Mom tells my Dad that we're going to run out of gas and to let her know where she should pull off the state highway that we were on. Dad wanted to avoid the Washington DC Beltway because of the traffic. (like traffic is a major concern at 3:30 a.m.) Dad tells her that we can still go for quite a way on empty, so don't get off at this exit. You guessed it! We ran out of gas. Here we were, middle of the night on a not well traveled road, Mom, Dad and their 3 girls, stuck without knowing where we could even walk to get gas. Around 6-6:30, a trucker stopped and got gas for us and brought it back. My Dad wouldn't leave his women. We had enough to get us to the next exit where a gas station was open.
Mom has not trusted Dad since then about how much gas is in the tank and she still brings up, when she's running low, that maybe she should just keep going. There is plenty of gas left when the tank is on E.
It's one of our many funny stories that come up on holidays when we're all sitting around the table.
It was June 1985. My brother was going on a 7-week service project with our HS to Mexico to work in an orphanage. They drove with their chaperones from PA to Mexico over a week, worked for 5-weeks and took a week to drive home. We went to the Mass at the school to celebrate their adventure and we were on the road to drive to DW around 10:00 that night.
Everything was great until we were in West Virginia, around 3:30 a.m., and my Mom tells my Dad that we're going to run out of gas and to let her know where she should pull off the state highway that we were on. Dad wanted to avoid the Washington DC Beltway because of the traffic. (like traffic is a major concern at 3:30 a.m.) Dad tells her that we can still go for quite a way on empty, so don't get off at this exit. You guessed it! We ran out of gas. Here we were, middle of the night on a not well traveled road, Mom, Dad and their 3 girls, stuck without knowing where we could even walk to get gas. Around 6-6:30, a trucker stopped and got gas for us and brought it back. My Dad wouldn't leave his women. We had enough to get us to the next exit where a gas station was open.
Mom has not trusted Dad since then about how much gas is in the tank and she still brings up, when she's running low, that maybe she should just keep going. There is plenty of gas left when the tank is on E.
It's one of our many funny stories that come up on holidays when we're all sitting around the table.
I had a few minutes to spare and got a loaded potato. Sadly I only had time for a couple of bites and I had to run to the gate.
Warning, not for delicate ears, but will be a great laugh for those of you that understand
It is also a bit long, so consider yourselves warned!
Drove through rush hour trying to find a gas station, couldn't find one. Help! It's about 90 minutes before my flight leaves the gate, it's the witching hour, and I still couldn't find a station. Return the car on empty, and beg the return vehicle attendant not to overcharge me to fill the tank. He says "he will take care of me", so I throw who knows how much money at him and race to the obscenely long security line. Make it through security, and basically run from security to my gate, where I am one of the last to board. 
A hour later, we are finally taking off, and I am able to take care of things, which are a bit heavier than anticipated. The flight was a bit eventful; we flew around the storms, and could see the lightning all around us! I am looking at my watch, realizing it's going to be very tight for me to make my connecting flight. We land in Atlanta and arrive at our gate 10 minutes after my connecting flight getting me home took off. Its about 10pm. I go take care of business again, and rush over to a Southwest service counter, which has a line of about forty people. I was not the only person to miss my flight. I stand in line for about five hours, waiting to talk to an agent, who went from two agents assisting to one, and were having computer issues because of all the canceled flights from earlier. While in line, I call Southwest customer service, who tell me the only way I can get another flight is to physically talk to an agent, not just on the phone. Huh?
I go to the restroom, and try to clean up things as best I can. The supplies I have are no match for my situation. Landing in Baltimore, I rush straight to a restroom. I am wearing a long skirt, which looks like an axe murderer used it for cleaning his hands. I end up using baby wipes to clean up as much as I can and wrap the red Delta blanket around my waist like a sarong to cover my axe murderer skirt. The flight to Grand Rapids was smooth and relatively short, and I was never so happy to see my parents (with clean clothing in hand) (and my puppy) in my life! My wonderful parents drove me to Detroit Friday afternoon to get my car at the parking lot, and I arrived home, with dog in tow, the same time I would have had I waited in Atlanta for the direct flight.
Morals of the story, 1) always bring more supplies than you think you'll need; 2) when storms cover half the country, always reschedule if possible; 3) don't cut a trip short so you can go back to work, and 4) fill your gas tank before you get near an airport!
