(Gary)

A comedy of errors today. Our first two legs came off without a hitch. We were even able to book two bags each through to Beijing for free since our first leg was on first class. On CA 992, JFK-PEK, we flew with the proletariat. The baggage line was very long, the security line longer, but I really didn't mind so much. It was a very full flight and I had to sit a row behind Lisa and Mom. We spent two hours on the tarmac waiting for our turn to take off, but finally at 5:00 PM we were in the air. Two hours later (near Hudson Bay) we turned around and went back to JFK. We couldn't do the job with this equipment.

It turns out that we were losing cabin pressure at 30,000 feet due to a part that regulates cabin pressure. We were flying at about 18,000 and slower on the way back. Like Ron White said: "The pilot was yelling at the geese; 'Go around, go around!'" Well, we did get there ahead of the ambulance, but we were able to land on our wheels.

The rest of the night involved baggage delays, a rush for the buses and horrific checkin at the hotel. I have to go now, the girls want to get to the airport because we can't raise anyone on the phone and we want to get our seat assignments.