I have been on a number of India trpis in the last couple of years, most of them being business trips. Each time I would tell my wife that “it will be just a cabin bag this time” and then end up carrying fully packed checked-in bags (friends wanting to send stuff back home being a small factor).
This time being a personal trip, 2 checkin bags was common. We (wife, myself and brother) left our place about 2 hrs before the flight with the big suitcase in the back seat and the smaller one in the trunk (yes, I still have the small compact car but again its a 323 
). The traffic was bumper 2 bumper on 405 – as we were crawling in traffic, we were chatting about making the flight on time, etc, etc. Suddenly we saw some smoke from the bonnet which was shocking.. so we slowly made it to the shoulder of the highway and started looking underneath. The radiator can was empty and the engine was burning hot. Thoughts on missing the flight, whether I can get tickets to India for my dad’s 60th bday, fixing the car, were racing through my mind.
I called a cab and the dude wanted me to get on a cross street first, so we slowly drove the car and made it to the 9th street and 110 ave intersection in Bellevue. There was about 75 mins for the flight to take off from Seattle. So we called in the cab and decided to take only my cabin bag so that I can make the flight on time. So quickly we transferred a couple of extra shirts and I rushed to the airport. We parked the car on the roadside and decided to get it fixed later. I called in my friend (who had to drive all the way back from his home) to give a ride to my brother and wife.
On reaching the airport, I quickly paid the cabbie and darted to the ticketing counter. There was about 40 mins left and I was hoping that was enough for someone with just the carry-on. There was no huge line and the counter lady was very patient – apparently the flight was delayed by 2 hrs!!
Ah Ah .. I had always wanted to travel with the carry-on but this was frustrating. And ya, btw the airlines did not get my preference for the india veggie meal and I could not get an aisle seat but having been through what I did earlier, did not let all this affect me.
Truth is that – Shit happens. We just have to re-adjust and make things work.
