Hey, remember how excited my buddy Sergio Aragonés and I were to be guests this weekend at the Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina? Well, guess what? We're not going to be there.
We were all packed and ready to go when a few hours ago — at 9:22 PM our time — we were notified that our flight was canceled. Here — I'll show you the text message they sent…
Half an hour later, they notified us that they'd rebooked us on a flight so early in the morning that Sergio would have to leave for the airport about now, whereas I could get two hours sleep before I had to start out. That flight would take us not to Charlotte but to another city far from North Carolina for a long layover…but that doesn't matter because there's no way we can get to that flight on time.
So then I spent an hour on the phone with a lady at American Airlines who really couldn't have cared less if we got to our destination…and I'm not kidding. She didn't care and it really took an hour. A couple times, she said, "Let me check on other flights" and then disappeared for 8-12 minutes. I used one of those "on hold" intervals to check other airlines for other flights and there was nothing there that would work.
The flights she offered for today were all dreadful, unacceptable options and there were no flights whatsoever on Friday. The only reason she could give for our flight being canceled was "aircraft maintenance." She didn't say or know any more than that but I'm guessing it had something to do with this…
American Airlines announced Sunday that it will extend flight cancellations through Sept. 3 for Boeing's embattled 737 Max, a new passenger jet that has been out of commission for almost three months after its flight-control software played a role in two deadly crashes. The cancellations will affect approximately 115 flights per day, the airline said.
Our flight was on an Airbus A321 but obviously, American has a shortage of planes to go with their shortage of caring people on their reservations line. Whatever the cause, Sergio and I decided it was impossible to get there and we're pretty unhappy about that. We know there were folks who decided to make the journey to Heroes Con to see us. Well, him. There were people there we wanted to see, as well. And you know who I really feel sorry for? Their programming director — a great guy named Andrew Mansell, who now has to find other moderators for the eleven panels I was going to host.
And I feel bad that I won't be making the "side trip" I had planned for Monday. I had an Avis car booked in which to drive to Mt. Airy, a lovely (I hear) town an hour or two north of Charlotte but still in North Carolina. Mt. Airy was where Andy Griffith grew up and the town of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show was roughly modeled on Mt. Airy. In turn, Mt. Airy has since modeled some of itself on Mayberry…and that's also where the Andy Griffith Museum is.
I was going to spend most of Monday getting a tour of the city. Barney Fife's old girlfriend Thelma Lou was going to show me around and then I was going to take her to dinner. I'm not kidding about this.
I grew up in West L.A. In the house next door to ours lived Betty Lynn, a busy actress who did many things in her career but is best known for her years on the Griffith Show playing Thelma Lou. The Lynns and the Evaniers were very close and Betty was like an aunt to me — a wonderful, loving aunt and I adore her.
I haven't seen this lady since 2006 when she moved from L.A. to Mt. Airy where she is by far the biggest celebrity in town. When I wake up in the morning, I have to call her and tell her I'm not coming. I'll promise her that I will, though…very soon.
And I want to emphasize that our non-appearance there is not the fault of the convention or its organizers, who have been nothing but peachy to us. If they'll still have us, Sergio and I will make it to a Heroes Con soon…especially if there's another airline that can get us there. I still can't get over how indifferent that lady on the phone was.