I’m sure most of us in the US have their own stories about dealing with the record cold temperatures we’ve been experiencing this week. For Rhonda Vincent, our reigning Bluegrass Queen, the travails of air travel and extreme cold paired up on Monday for a unique airport adventure.
It began when her flight from Nashville was delayed on the runway after landing in St Louis. When she was finally able to deplane, the temperature was 1˚(F) outdoors. She hustled through the terminal to make her flight back home to Kirksville, MO, a connection she feared would be missed thanks to the delayed arrival back to the gate from in St Louis.
On arriving at the proper gate, she started down the jetway that would take her to the runway where the small plane was ready for boarding. But between the time she entered and the time she made it to the outer door, both ends had been locked. She and an airport security officer spent 45 minutes in the freezing cold before they were found and released.
“I contacted the airport on Twitter from my phone, and they tweeted me back asking where we were. They sent the police to get us out, but we were awful cold after 45 minutes. Good thing I had my coat with me!”
To complete the happy ending, Rhonda didn’t even miss her connecting flight. It was delayed by more than an hour, and she made it home safe and sound.
