Superpowers (I Wish I Didn't Have)

I had a dream last night. I think I was in Mthatha (mixed with a few other places) but I can't exactly remember all the people I was with. I remember that I needed to be at the airport by 17h00 to catch a flight to Durban (I don't know why I would want to go to Durban, but no, it wasn’t to watch a Sharks game), but all the people I was with kept getting distracted by silly things. I kept telling the driver that we were running out of time but he (she?) didn't seem to care. Eventually I realised that it was too late and I was never going to make the flight to Durbs.

Then my alarm woke me up - 04h20, just enough time to get all my stuff together and catch my cab at 04h30. Unlike in my dream I got to the airport on time. But sure enough, after 30min in the check in queue we were informed that the flight had been cancelled and we all had to be rebooked! The soonest possible flight I could get on leaves tomorrow, same time - about 12 hours too late for me to get to Montreal for the NHL game I had a ticket for. $200 down the drain! The Canadiens vs The Maple Leafs - biggest game/rivalry in Canadian ice hockey. Bitter.

This is becoming a habit with me and I have started to develop an ostrich sense about certain situations when I just know that I'm going to be flightless again. It happened on the way to Copenhagen: an innocuous enough announcement – “There will be a ten minute delay in boarding” – and my ostrich sense started to tingle. Sure enough, 40min later they informed us that due to “serious hydraulic failure” the flight was cancelled and we had to be rebooked on a BA flight. I ended up arriving 9 hours late in Copenhagen, middle of the night, without my luggage (this was just one of many incidents on that trip!). Then again on the way back from Copenhagen: I arrive at the boarding gate in Montreal to see only one person and hear an announcement that the boarding gate had changed - the ostrich sense started to kick. We made it all the way to St John’s, circled it a couple of times, and then the pilot announced that wind and ice conditions made it too dangerous to land. We were diverted to Halifax where we got to wait around for hours, mostly in queues, before catching a rescheduled flight. I arrived in St John’s 9 hours late and caught a cold from the guy next to me on the rescheduled flight.

So my ostrich sense is well developed. I really had these premonitions of flight delays that ultimately came true. But I never realised that it was powerful enough to operate even as I sleep. Now if only I could find a way of harnessing these powers for Good…

This ostrich will fly again some day!